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of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacificationa. 


Original  copias  in  printad  papar  covars  »n  filmad 
beginning  with  tha  front  covor  and  anding  on 
tha  last  paga  with  a  printad  or  illustratad  impraa- 
sion,  or  tha  back  covar  whan  appropriata.  All 
othar  original  copias  ara  filmad  beginning  on  tha 
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da  la  natteti  da  rexemplaira  film*,  at  an 
conformity  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmage. 

Lea  exemplairaa  originaux  dont  la  couvartura  an 
papier  eat  imprimia  sont  filmis  tn  commancant 
par  la  premier  plat  at  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
darniire  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinta 
d'imprassion  ou  d'iliustration,  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  la  caa.  Toua  lea  autres  axemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmis  an  commen9ant  par  la 
pramiire  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impreasion  ou  d'iliustration  at  en  terminant  par 
la  darniire  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  laat  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  — ^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  dee  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
darniire  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  salon  le 
caa:  le  symbols  -^signifie  "A  SUIVRE".  la 
aymbole  V  aignifie  "FIN". 


Mapa,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  expoaure  ara  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  aa  many  framea  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Lea  cartea,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  itra 
filmis  i  das  taux  de  reduction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  itra 
raproduit  en  un  seul  clichi,  ii  est  film*  i  par.ir 
de  Tangle  supirieur  gauche,  de  gauche  *  droita, 
at  de  haut  en  baa,  an  prenant  la  nombre 
d'imagea  nicaasaira.  Lea  diagrammes  suivants 
illuatrent  la  mithoda. 


1  2  3 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

MICtOCOW   RISOIUTION   TIST   CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


^'    /APPLIED  IIVMGE 


1653  EosI   Main   stfeel 

Rochesltr.   Ne»   York         U609       USA 

(716)   482  -  0300  -  Phone 

(716)   268-  5989  -  Fo» 


(L' 


crn>^ 


1 


"5 


1 


A  STUDY 


IN  THE 


Etymology  of  the  Indian 
Place  Name 


f 

I 
I 


WtUi  the  CompUments  of 


THE  BLANCHARD  PRESS 

Worcester,     Mass. 

1906 


A  STUDY 


m  THE 


Etymology  of  the  Indian 
Place  Name 

MISSISQUOI 


BY 


GEORGE    McALEER,    M.D. 

Honorary  Member  of  the  Missis quoi 
Historical  Society 


olf 


THE  BLANCHARD  PRESS 

Worcester,     Mass. 
1906 


pmss/ 

I  'TO  6 


Copyright,    1906 

By  George  McAleer 

Worcester,  Mass. 


DEDICATION 


TO  A  KIND  FATHER  WHOM  PKRSECUTION 
DROVK  PROM  HIS  XATIVE  LAXD  TO  KIND  AN  EAB.V  OBAVE 
WORN  OrT  WITH  TOIL  AND  HARDSHIPS  IN  THE  ' 

^MLDERNESS;   TO  A  LOVING  AND  DEVOTED  MOTHER 
WHO.  LEPT  WITH  THE  BURDEN   OP  A  LARok   PaTlv    EVER 
STROVE  BRAV.LY  ON,  WHOM  NO  TRIAL  DAUNTED 
NOR  VICISSITUDE  DISCOURAGED;   TO  THE  SISTER  InDBHoTHPR. 
WITH  WHOM  THE  CARES  AND  .OYS  OP  THE  SPR^Ze 
OP  UPE  WERE  SHARED;  TO  PRIENDS  AND  Ne'«7tR,ED 
AND  TRUE-PEOPLE  PROM  MANY  CUMES  WHOM  A 
COMMON    LOT   AND   A    COMMON   DESTINY  ^Ide    TOLERANT    AVD 
MUTUALLY  HELPPUL-MOST  OP  WHOM   WERE   the 
HARDY  AND  ADVENTUROUS  PIONEERS  OR  THEIR 
IMMEDIATE  DESCENDANTS,  MANY  OP  WHOM 
NOW  SLEEP  THE  LAST  SLEEP  IN  THE  SOIL  OP  THE 
COUNTY  THAT  THEY  RECLAIMED  PROM   THE   PR  JevaL 
KOREST  BY  THEIR  ENTERPRISE,  INDOMITABLE 
ENERGY   VND  PERSEVERANCE,  THE 
ETYMOLOGY  OP  THE  NAME   OP  WHICH    MISSISOUOI 
IT  HAS  BEEN  THE  WRITER'S  EPPOBTS  TO  ^1^^ , 
THIS  STUDY  IS  DEDICATED. 


Author. 


MISSISQUOI 


"LANGUAGE  is 
a  solemn  thing;  it 
-^-  grows  out  of  life,-  out 
of  its  agonies  and  ecsta- 
sies, its  wants  and  weariness.. 
Every  language  is  a  temple  in 
which  the  soul  of  those  who  speak  is  enshrined." 

So  wrote  the  author  of  "The  Autocrat  at  the  Break- 
fast Table,"  one  of  the  great  lights  in  American  lit- 
erature, and  applied  to  the  American  Indian— the 
A.x.erind  of  modern  anthropologists— the  beauty  of 
sentiment  and  diction  embodied  therein  have  added 
significance  and  value  because  of  their  literal  truth 
and  pathos. 

As  a  people  they  perished  befr  •  the  cupiditv 
oppression  and  injustice  of  the  British  colonists,  even 
as  perish  travellers  in  the  mephitic  atmosphere  of  the 
simoons  of  the  desert;  and  the  names  that  grew  out 
of  their  lives  alone  remain  as  enduring  monuments  to 
tell  coming  generations  of  their  prehistoric  presence 
here  and  ownership  of  the  soil. 

No  resurgent  day  will  ever  dawn  to  bring  them  into 
their  own  again,  and  niggardly  indeed  would  be  the 


6 


Etymology   of   Missisquoi. 


pen  that  would  deny  them  their  proper  place  in  his- 
tory, although  it  be  envenomed  and  darkened  by  the 
curtain  of  so-called  civilization,  and  the  narrative  sad- 
dened by  their  sufferings  or  distorted  by  malice. 

As  they  were  a  nomadic  people  and  principally  con- 
cerned in  pi  ^curing  sustenance  and  clothing  for  the 
body,  many  of  these  names,  as  might  be  expected,  indi- 
cated where  fish  and  game  abounded;  their  different 
species  and  varieties ;  the  characteristics  of  mountains, 
lakes  and  rivers ;  and  some  had  onom  toixEic  and  other 
origin. 

Even  these,  like  the  people  who  bestowed  them  and 
to  whom  thay  meant  so  much,  have  not  escaped  the 
iconoclastic  frenzy  of  those  who  drove  them  from  their 
homes  and  lands  and  who  extinguished  the  firr s  of  their 
wigwams  forever.  Meaningless  names  of  some  worth- 
less son  of  royalty  or  degraded  nobility,  of  some  human 
butcher  clothed  with  military  authority,  of  some  un- 
principled vampire  in  official  station,  and  of  con- 
scienceless scoundrels  in  other  walks  of  life,  have  been 
substituted  for  the  aboriginal  names  of  great  euphony, 
significance  and  appropriateness. 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  a  people  having  no  fixed 
place  of  abode,  and  composed  of  numerous  tribes 
having  different  languages  and  dialects,  but  without 
written  iules  or  fixed  laws,  would  always  have  the 
same  name  for  the  same  place  or  thing  when  many 
names  would  be  equally  appropriate.  This  may  be 
easily  illustrated  by  supposing  a  forest-covered  hill  or 
mountain  beside  a  lake  that  abounds  in  fish,  the  shore 


Etymolooy   of   Missibquoi.  7 

of  which  is  composed  of  cliffs  and  boulders,  and  into 
which  a  river  flows  a  few  miles  away,  along  the  shores 
c.nd  at  the  mouth  of  which  are  extensive  marshes-a  not 
inapt  description  of  the  country  in  the  vicinity  of  Phil- 
ipsburg,  on  the  shore  of  Missisquoi  Bay,  in  the  County 
ofMis8isquoi.ProvinceofQueboc,andof  that  portion  of 
Vermont  through  which  the  Missisquoi  River  flows, 
before  the  coming  of  the  pale-face. 

The  water-ways  being  then  the  highwavs  of  travel, 
and  fish  and  game  being  in  abundance  the)  ..abouts,  it 
18  fair  to  presume  that  this  portion  of  the  country  must 
have  been  a  place   of   very  general  resort.    To  one 
tribe  It  raigl  t  have  been  known  as  "the  great  hunting 
place     because  of  the  abundance  of  deer,  moose,  bear 
anu  other  game  in  the  forests ;  to  another  as  the  "great 
fishing  place  "--big  fishing  place, "-because  of  the 
abundance  of  fish  in  the  lake;  to  another  as  a  place  of 
mu^h  water-fowl,  "-as  records  prove  their  abun- 
dance in  these  waters  before  the  country  was  settled- 
to  another  as  "the  place  of  the  big  or  great  marsh  oi^ 
mu.  Jies,  ---much  miry  place, "--the  place  of  much 
grass  or  willows;"  to  another  as  a  place  of  many  and 
big  rocks  and  boulders;  and  others  may  have  bestowed 
names  founded  upon  some  fancied  resemblance  discov- 
ered in  the  shore  line  of  the  lake,  in  the  topography  of 
the  country,  or  in  the  contour  of  some  rockv  bluff,  as  is 
distinctly  traced  in  -The  Old  Man  of  the' Mountain" 
in  the  White  Mountains  of  New  Hampshire. 

These  various  explanations  are  give.,  to  show  how 
the  same  place  might  have  been  differently  named  by 


8 


Etymology    of   Missibquoi. 


different  tribes  who  may  have  visited  this  locality 
when  on  the  war-path,  in  the  pursuit  of  food  or  adven- 
ture, or  in  their  periodical  migrations;  and  while  all 
the  names  may  have  Jiflfered,  all  would  clearly 
describe  some  recognizable  feature  of  the  place  which 
renders  any  one  or  all  of  them  appropriate  and  in  har- 
mony with  aboriginal  custom. 

That  such  ^vea  the  fact  will  not  seem  improbable 
when  I  enter  more  fully  upon  the  discubsion  of  my 
investigations  and  efforts  to  discover  the  etymology 
of  the  name  of  the  river  in  northern  Vermont,  and  the 
bay  and  county  in  the  Province  of  Quebec  new  spelled 
Missisquoi,  but  which  has  undergone  many  changes  in 
orthography.  Authorities  also  differ  as  to  the  deriv- 
ation and  signification  of  the  word,  as  will  more  full> 
appear 

Having  boen  born  and  reared  in  Missisquoi  County, 
I  was  interested  in  this  subject  from  my  earliest  recol- 
lection, and  during  the  jcars  of  my  school-life  I  sought 
in  vain  to  learn  when  my  native  county  was  estab- 
lished, who  established  it,  who  named  it,  why  it  was 
so  named,  from  whence  came  the  name,  what  it  sig- 
nifies, etc.  As  the  teachers  did  not  know  nor  seemingly 
care,  and  as  there  was  no  library  that  I  could  consult, 
nor  publications  available  to  supply  this  light  unto 
my  path,  I  had  to  submit  in  this,  as  in  many  other 
things,  with  such  grace  as  I  could  conunand,  to  the 
oft-repeated  rebuff:  "What  good  is  it?" — another 
form  of  the  cui  bono  of  the  avowed  utilitarian — as  if 
the  pursuit  of  material  things  alone  was  the  only  end 
of  existence. 


EtYSIOI^XJV     of     MiSHIHqUOI.  n 

Judging  from  my  more   recont   o.xperienceH   .Mong 
t  lene  same  lines,  I  am  reluctantly  forced  to  iH.liove 
that  thi«  culpable  indiflFerence  and  inertia,  that  deprcHM 
and    epel,  still  continue,  not  only  in  tlio  more  huml)Io 
walks  ,n  rural  life,  but  also  among  too  manv  of  those 
seated  m  high  places  in  the  intellectual  and  chu-a- 
tionul  offices  of  the  Provincial  (JovernnuM.t.  where  they 
are  supposed  to  render  information  to  seekers  thereof 
and  for  which  they  are  rewarded  witli  fat  salaries 

Takmg  leave  of  the  old  homestead  and  the  land  of 
my  nativity  on  reaching  man's  estate,  I  journeyed  to 
the  land  of  the  stranger,  but  now  the  stranger  no 
longer,  where  for  more  years  than  span  a  generatioa 
1  have  since  made  my  home,  but  ever  and  anon,  in  the 
hurry  and  bustle  of  a  fairly  active  life,  my  mind  uncon- 
sciously and  unbidden  harks  back  to  the  old  hearth- 
stone and  to  the  living  memories  of  the  long  ago 

And  now  comes  the  information  that  the  people  of 
Missisquoi  County  are  arousing  themselves  from  the 
sleep  of  a  century,  that  an  Historical  Society  has  been 
orgamzed  to  gather  up  and  treasure  the  little  that  has 
not  been  already  swept  into  the  lethal  stream  of  obliv- 
ion, coupled  witli  the  request  to  prepare  a  paper  on  the 
very  subject  which  proved  such  a  stumbling-block  to 
me  m  the  days  of  my  youth. 

Being  only  too  glad  to  lend  a  helping  hand  in  this 
good  work,  I  cheerfully  acquiesced,  and  while  the 
results  are  not  all  that  I  could  wish,  they  are  submitted 
to  my  colleagues  in  the  society  and  interested  readers 
m  the  hope  that  they  may  stimulate  others  to  engage 
m  the  task  and  -^osecute  it  to  more  successful  issue 


10 


Etymoixxiy   or   Mia8UM)U0i. 


I  lay  no  claimH  to  ethnological  or  philological  lore, 
o'  to  having  made  my  invcHtigatiouM  along  original 

(8.  I  hovo  but  followed  in  the  pathway  blazed  by 
others,  and  the  data  and  information  thu8  obtained  I 
have  BUpplementod  with  the  pron.  imcements  of  the 
highest  living  authorities  whom  I  consulted;  and  to 
all  who  have  rendered  valuable  aid  I  acknowledge  my 
indebtedness  and  gratitude. 

Failing  in  my  effor  ts  to  establish  positively  the  ety- 
mology of  the  Indian  place  name  Missistiuoi,  and  find- 
ing the  authorities  of  the  past  and  present  in  such 
seemingly  hopeless  opposition  as  to  render  an  agree- 
ment imi)robable,  if  not  impossible,  I  deemed  it  best, 
at  the  risk  of  the  charge  of  prolixity  ana  tediousness, 
to  record  in  detail  the  various  steps  taken,  the  meth- 
ods pursued,  and  the  results  obtained,  that  my  readers 
may  know  the  scope  of  my  work  and  ihe  authorities 
consulted,  should  any  of  them  feel  inclined  to  continue 
the  quest. 

At  the  outset,  I  visited  the  archives  of  the  American 
Anticiuarian  Society,  a  society  which  was  organized 
more  than  one  hundred  years  ago,  whose  extensive 
library  and  collection  of  Americana  is  located  in  the 
city  of  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  and  which  is  known 
to  the  scholars  and  savants  of  the  world  to  be  without 
a  rival,  where  I  was  privileged  to  examine  the  prized 
Indian  dictionaries  and  grammars  so  industriously 
compiled  and  arranged  by  the  sainted  Roman  Catholic 
missionaries  of  the  long  ago,  when  Christianity  and 
civilization  piompted,  and  not  the  cruel  injustice, 
oppression  and  extermination  of  later  times. 


1 

% 
-I 


Etymolooy   or   Mihwih^uoi.  || 

Here  I  abo  cormulted    the    monuiuontal  xvorkn  of 

Bishop  HnniKa.  Kliot.  Trumbull,  and  othorn  .looply 

oarned    in   Klnioloffv  „„d  philology,  parti.-ularly  in 

the  Amenoan  Indian  and  tho  Indian  lanKuaKen  and 

tlioir  many  dialects. 

Starting  with  tho  pn'fJx  .\i,,i  as  tho  fiualifying  adjon- 
tive,  which.  a«  a  part  of  the  name  of  a  river,  our  old 
geographies  informed  us  meant  much,  great,  or  big 
which  explanation  was  confirmed  hv  the  authorities 
consulted,  I  added  the  radical,  or  ro..t  word,  *7/mo/^ 
making  Misiscp.oiH,    and    then    sought    the    meaning 
thereof.    The  terminal  of  the  names  of  manv  of  the 
Indian  tnoes  ois  and  quois    (Illin-ois,  Abena-quois, 
Houro-quois,  Iro-cpiois)  led  me  to  think  that  oLs,  quoLs 
or  ,q„ois  was  the  proper  ending  or  tenuinal  of  Missis- 
quo.s,  and    this    prompted    investigation  along  these 
Jmes. 

As  I  advanced  in  my  work,  I  found  that  ois,  quois 
and  .ry«o/.  were  of  .ench  origin,  and  were  used  to 
soften  the  Indian  terminal  oak  or  H'o*,-thus  Illinois 
18  pronounced  by  the  Ojibways  (Chippewas  anglicized, 
and  Octipwc  modernized)  Illinook,  and  by  the 
Aigonquins  Illinwok-the  terminal  meaning  men,  peo- 
ple,-but  this  root  word  being  of  too  modern  origin 
could  not  be  accepted,  and  must,  therefore,  be  barred 

Pushing  my  investigations  further  along  other  lines, 
i  tound  Bishop  Baraga  and  others  authority  for  the 
statement    that   Missisquoi    is  of  Cree  origin,-A/,-,i 
great,  big,  much,-and  ikwew,  iskew,  isquaw  or  isk- 


12 


Etymology   op   Missisquoi. 


ivaw,  all  being  equivalent,  and  all  meaning  woman,  and 
that,  therefore,  Missisquoi  means  "great,  big,  much, 
or  many  women."  Here,  at  last,  thought  I,  is  my  quest 
rewarded;  here,  at  last,  is  the  etymologj'  of  the  word 
authoritatively  determined. 

I  next  sought  for  an  explanation  for  the  bestowal  of 
this  name  upon  the  river  in  northern  Vermont  that 
flows  across  the  State  from  east  to  west  and  disem- 
bogues into  Lake  Champlain,  near  the  boundary  line 
between  the  United  States  and  Canada,  and  upon  that 
portion  of  the  lake  that  extends  into  Canada  and  known 
as  flissisquoi  Bay,  believing  that  the  country  there- 
abouts was  so  well  known  by  this  name  when  the 
county  was  surveyed  and  established  that  its  bestowal 
thereon  was  but  a  natural  consequence. 

No  authority  that  I  consulted  furnished  any  expla- 
nation, and,  thrown  upon  my  own  resources,  I  then 
endeavored  to  i-ecall,  but  without  avail,  some  conforma- 
tion of  the  bluffs,  or  outline  of  shore  or  water,  that 
would  suggest  the  female  form  and  justify  the  name. 
Next  it  occurred  to  me  that  the  name  might  mean  much 
or  many  women— a  place  where  the  warriors,  when 
going  away  for  a  long  time  on  their  annual  hunts,  on 
predatory  expeditions,  or  on  warfare,  might  have 
assembled  their  squaws  and  left  them,  as  in  a  place 
of  safety,  until  their  return.  But  this,  being  contrary 
to  Indian  custom,  had  to  be  abandoned  also. 

Whether  there  ever  existed  some  woman  of  large 
proportions  or  transcendent  ability  to  justify  the 
name  of  "big"  or  "great"  woman;  whether  any  Joan 


i 


Etymology   op   Missisquoi.  13 

of  Arc  ever  successfully  led  her  admiring  and  valiant 
warriors  against  a  cruel  and  blood-thirsty  foe;  whether 
any  Diana  ever  ranged  the  woods  and  led  in  the  chase- 
whether  any  dusky  Venus,  fair  and  frail,  played  a 
leading  part  in  a  conquest  of  love;  or  perchance  in  a 
tragedy  that  caused  rivers  of  blood  to  flow,  and  so 
bequeathed  the  name  to  coming  generations,— it  is  now 
perhaps  idle  to  consider,  and  the  quest  may  well  be 
abandoned  to  future  investigation  or  individual  con- 
jecture. 

This  search  for  information  quickly  taught  me  that 
I  had  soraethmg  more  to  do  than  to  consult  lexicons,- 
that  I  had  to  deal  with  numerous  complexities  and 
problems  that  required  i)atient  investigation  along 
many  and  diverse  lines,  which  to  be  jirized  at  their 
real  value  must  be  thoroughly  investigated,  compared 
and  contrasted. 

No  obstacle  has  deterred    nor    has    expense    been 
si^ared  to  obtain  exhaustive  and  accurate  information 
Following  along  these  lines  the  work  has  extended 
and   expanded   beyond   all   my   expectations    at   the 
outset. 

A  little  later,  it  occurred  to  me  that  while  the  Indi- 
ans were  doubtless  of  the  same  origin  racially,  they 
were  not  linguistically  kindred,  and  that  the  language 
and  dialects  of  the  different  tribes  of  Indians  varied 
very  much.  As  the  Crecs  wore  very  remote  from  the 
tribes  occupying  the  territory  of  northern  New  Eng- 
land and  the  eastern  part  of  Canada,  and  as  their  lan- 
guage was  very  different  from  the  language  of  the 


14 


Etymology   of   Missisquoi. 


latter  tribes,  I  became  credulous  as  to  the  etymology  of 
the  word  as  given  by  Bishop  Baraga,  and  sought  con- 
firmation or  denial  at  the  seat  of  government  in  Que- 
bec and  Ottawa. 

Although  inclosing  postage  and  offering  to  make 
compensation  for  the  service  rendered,  I  received  no 
information,  much  less  the  courtesy  of  a  reply,  from 
officials  who  occupy  distinguished  positions  in  the 
inte]l*»ctual  and  educational  departments  of  the  gov- 
ernment in  Quebec,  which  may  aid  in  explaining  wL^ 
many  things  are  as  they  are  in  this  Province,  and  why 
so  many  of  her  sons  seek  more  congen  surround- 
ings and  methods  elsewhere. 

From  Ottawa  came  promptly  the  following  reply  to 
my  inquiry : 

Dominion  of  Canada. 
Statistical  Branch,  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Ottawa,  April  9, 1904. 
George  McAleer,  M.D., 

Worcester,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 

Dear  Sir:  In  re  yours  of  the  28th  instant,  I  beg  to 
give  you  the  following  notes : 

Missisquoi, — from  Mishi,  big ;  Ishkew,  woman, —  big 
woman,  in  Cree  language. 


Yours  very  truly, 

George  Johnson, 
Statistician. 

This  explanation  is  clear,  explicit,  unqualified,  and 
in  harmony  with  that  given  by  the  good  Bishop. 


Etymology   of   Missisquoi. 


15 


1 


1 


Here  apparently  was 

"  Conflrrnation  strong 
As  proof  of  Holy  Writ." 

And  yet  I  was  not  entirely  satisfied.    Knowing  the 
great  interest  taken  by  tlie  people  of  all  portions  of 
tDe  United  States  in  everything  pertaining  to  their 
early  history,  and  their  very  complete  records,  I  next 
had  recourse  to  the  archives  of  the  State  of  Vermont 
In  Thompson's  History  of  Vermont,  Burlington,  1842 
I'art  m,  ,t  is  recorded  of  the  name  "Missisquoi,"  in 
note  at  the  bottom  of  i)age  117 : 

This  name  is  doubtless  derived  from  the  Indians 
but  there  is  not  perfect  agreement  with  regard  touts' 
signification.    Some  consider  it  as  coming  from  l/^e 
signifying  mucJi,  and  miskeco,  grass  -abounding?; 

water-fowl.  The  name  is  usually  pronounced  Missisco 
and  my  reason  for  spelling  it  Missisco,  besides  is  near' 

of  th'Jw'   H*'  f'r^^"^^^^ ''  '^'  ""«^"led  orthograp^^^^^ 
of  the  word,  which  may  be  st.n  by  the  followinrsrfpll 

Sdlcalf:  -''-''  -^  -^^'^'  ^--  printeTKt 


Missis  CO, 
Missis  coe. 
Missis  coui, 
Mich  is  coui, 
Michis  conie, 
Missis  qua, 
Missis  quay, 


Missis  que, 
Missis  qui. 
Missis  quei, 
Missis  quoi, 
Michis  qui, 
Masis  ka, 


Missis  kay, 
Missis  ki, 
Missis  koui, 
Missis  kow, 
Missis  koy, 
Missis  koue." 


16 


ETYMOuyy   op   Missisquoi. 


During  my  subsequent  investigations  and  researches 
I  encountered  many  others,  some  of  which  are:  Mes- 
sesco,  Missesco,  Michiscouy,  Missiskuos,  Missiskoug, 
Missishoug,  Missickoui,  Missichoiu,  Messescoui,  Mis- 
siscouie,  Miskouaha,  Michikoui. 

And  in  Part  I,  page  6,  of  the  same  work,  occurs  the 
following:  "There  is  a  considerable  tract  of  swampy 
land  at  the  south  end  of  Memphremagog  Lake,  and 
another  in  Highgate  about  the  mouth  of  Missisco 
River." 

This  seems  to  lend  color  to,  if  it  «ioes  not  prove  the 
correctness  of  the  etj-mology  of  the  word,  as  given 
above,  and  that  it  signifies  "a  place  of  much  grass," 
"a  miry  place,"  "a  marsh,"  however  much  at  variance 
this  may  be  with  that  given  by  Bishop  Baraga  and 
other  authorities. 

The  variations  in  the  spelling  of  the  name  need 
excite  no  surprise.  What  wonder  if  the  untutored 
savages  did  not  agree  in  their  intonation,  accentua- 
tion, or  in  their  pronunciation  of  words?  Having  no 
written  language  excepting  a  very  limited  ideography 
and  pictography,  nearly  everything  depended  upon  the 
phonetic.  They  were  a  people  without  a  literature,  and 
therefore  without  fixed  or  accepted  forms  and  laws  of 
speech ;  and,  being  dependent  upon  the  ear,  the  uttered 
sound  was  their  chief  dependence  for  communicating 
with  each  other. 

Those  who  have  travelled  much  at  home  or  abroad, 
where  language  and  pronunciation  are  based  upon 
definite  rules,  realize  how  varied  are  the  intonation  and 


Etymoloov    of    Missisijuot.  J, 

speech  in  different  parts  of  tho  same  country -so 
much  so  as  to  render  it  difficult  for  strangers  to  u^der 
stand  each  other  at  ars.,_and  how  great  would  be  the 
task  to  c  early  render,  by  any  combination  of  letlrs 

cult    lie  task  can  be  readily  imagined  when  the  Ian- 
guage  .s  not  understood  by  the  hearer,  when  the  modi 
fioa  .ons  „,  speech  of  different  tribes  i„  different  parts 
of  t  le  country  are  considered,  and  the  many  var  a  ion 
n  the  sound  that  different  individuals  in  the  same 
tribe  would  give  to  the  same  word 

An  unlettered  people,  whether  from  the  same  or  d, 
fereut  parts  of  the  country,  would  not  be  likely  to  utt^r 
the  same  word,  especially  if  of  onomatop,ric  irigin  as 
were  many  of  their  words,  so  as  to  fall  upon  Tear 
of  the  hs  oner  exactly  alike;  and  probably  most  of 

to'dr'uir^'i  ^" "''"''  ""'* " "  '-"i^- 

would  not   use    the   same   combination  of  letters  to 

ot  the  word     How  much  greater  would  be  the  diver/ 

ears, -cult  vated  and  unlettered  alike,_aud  especiallv 
when  people  of  different  nationalities,  the  fetters  o^ 

erati"ns  "'^  '"  ""  "■"■'^"'"^''  '»  --»«  gen- 

Judged  by  this  standard,  little  difficulty  will  be  found 

'"  "'';''"^^  ^""""8^  of  Mi^sisanoi,  especially  when 


18 


Etvm()I,oov   of   MissisqiJot. 


they  produce  substantialiy  the  same  sound,— a  fact 
which  seems  to  v>ro\'e  their  common  origin  and 
meaning. 

Confronted  with  tliese  different  etymologies  of  the 
word,  as  given  by  different  authorities,  only  intensi- 
fied my  interest  in  the  subject,  and  ])romi)ted  me  to 
push  my  investigations  further,— to  establish,  if  possi- 
ble, the  correct  origin  and  signification  of  the  word. 

Continuing  my  researches,  I  addressed  an  inquiry 
to  Rev.  Matthew  Henry  Buckham,  D.D.,  LJi.  D.,  pres- 
ident of  the  University  of  Vermont,  who  for  a  time 
resided  in  the  village  of  Bedford,  Missisquoi  County, 
P.  Q.,  Canada,  some  fifty  years  ago,  and  received  the 
following  reply : 

BUKLINGTON,  VERMONT,  NoV.  20,  1899. 

Db,  George  McAleeb, 

Worcester,  Mass. 
Dear  Sir:  President  Buckham  has  sent  to  me  your 
inquiry  of  the  16th  ult.  The  name  Missisquoi,  Mes- 
sisco,  etc.  (nineteen  spellings  are  given  in  Thompson's 
Gazetteer  of  Vermont)  is  by  some  thought  to  be  from 
Indian  3/se  (much)  and  Mskeco  (grass)— abounding  in 
grass.  Others  regard  it  as  from  Missi  (much)  and 
Kisco  (water-fowl).  The  lower  portions  of  the  river 
are  a  favorite  resort  of  the  wild  duck,  etc.  But  the 
other  derivation  may  be  correct,  as  the  extensive 
marshes  here  are  covered  witli  wild  grass.  I  prefer 
the  former,  partly  because  the  Lamoille  River  is  said 
to  have  been  named  (French)  La  Mouette  (the  gull), 
from  the  great  numbers  of  these  birds  seen  near  the 
mouth  of  this  stream.    As  the  engraver  of  the  map 


ETVMor.()OY    OF    M.s.si.s,iLoi.  j9 

did  not  cross  his  t'<j    Tn   at       ^^     , 

I'o-st  maps  no  n;nue  is  ^Wven  to  3^  i*-  "^  '■""■■'  ""^•- 

h'^t/i  lo  ino  .Missisquoi. 

Vours  very  truly, 

J.  E.  (iooDRiCH. 

efforts.  """""S""™'    -nd    prouiptod    lurU.er 

Shot*;  2t  ,1,.;::i;°1  "<"'"'-  •••"'"  «-  we,.o™ 
archive.,  of   ,  e  «  7"  "'"h     T'  '""■  """^^  '»  *e 

Ionia,  His.„rr„f  t„e  sLrtx"""'"*  "■  «"'  ^'»- 
1836-.  "  ^'''"'  "f  •'*™  Vorlc,"  Albany. 

relating  to  tl,e  ptace Tnd  /  .'"rr"'"'  '"'''•"^  '''=»■' 

ing  in  the  same  .eoti™  of   „1     .      reh  Ih""  "" 
IS  api)  ied,  and  a,   tl,«,.  ""*  "anie 

recorded  rferenees  t'tl  "■'   T""*''   "'"  """"^t 
and,  espoeiallv   as  ,  °  '""■"  """  '  '"'™  f^-d. 

deen,ed';th::'t;or:'j.h::,r„^"^''^-''™-^'"^'^ 

Dazemard    Sieur  dl   r  "''^  "P""'  ^ouis 

-i.an;rhL\^~,,:o-  Obtain. 


20 


ETVMOI.fXIV     OP     M1SSI8QUOI. 


was  an  ensign  in  a  company  of  the  troops  of  the 
Marine.  In  1733  he  commanded  at  the  River  Saint 
Joseph,  in  Illinois  in  173.'),  whence  he  returned  to 
Canada  in  1739.  He  commanded  at  Isle  Aux  Noix  in 
17r)0,  and  in  17^0  at  St.  John." 

In  Vol.  X,  page  102,  is  given  in  the  "Journal  of 
Occurrences  in  Canada,  174(5,  1747,"  among  other 
things  relating  to  other  times  and  places:  "The 
Mohawks  struck  another  blow  at  the  same  time  at  the 
Little  liapid,  a  league  below  Chambly,  wliere  they 
have  killed  a  child,  and  taken  two  men,  women  and 
four  children. 

' '  Lieutenant  de  Vassant,  commanding  a  guard  at  St. 
Therese,  immediately  sent  a  detachment  to  the  River 
Aux  Sables  to  intersect  (intercept?)  the  passage  of 
the  enemy;  but  I  returned  without  having  discovered 
any  trail ;  this  led  to  the  suspicion  that  the  enemy  are 
encamped  above  Chateaugue.  M.  de  Beaucourt,  in 
consequence,  detached  Lieutenant  St.  Pierre  with 
eighty  voyagers  and  citizens  by  the  Cascades  to  Lake 
St.  Francis,  so  as  to  surprise  them,  and  return  by 
Chateaugue.  Eight  Abenakis  of  Missiskuog  have 
followed  this  officer ;  word  has  been  sent  to  those  of  the 
Lake  to  go  and  meet  him  at  the  Cedars;  it  was  not 
thought  proper  to  invite  the  Iroquois  of  the  Saut,  as 
'twas  feared  at  Montreal  that  they  are  treacherous 
and  favor  the  Mohawks  in  their  incursions  on  our 
settlements;  they  are  even  suspected  of  giving  the 
enemy  notice  when  v  ^re  in  pursuit  of  them  by  firing 
three  shots  when  the  detachments  are  approaching 
their  camps." 


m 


Etvmoloov   op   .Mi».,is,.joi. 


21 

Teoa.,a„™a«,i„,  Cl.fer  „f  t,,„  i„ji„„^ 
S  .  U„,»    „„  ,,„  ,„,„„,  ,„  „„„,^^.,,,  ^^  J^t 

■n  ^ol.  IX,  pago  1110,  in  the  "Alistraot  of  tlio  differ 
« nt  .aov..,„.„„  „t  .Mo,„r..„l,  oa  oeea.iou  o    «,     "a  " 
from  tlie  moritli  of  Dcwmlwr   17-1-.   .    .1  .      ' 

Aneiist   174(i"  ,1,  ,   .  ,        ,  '  '"  "'"  ""■""'  "f 

iingiist,    746,     tliat  "Aa  Alienakis  of  .\lisaisl<uni  I.,>,1 

«l.otlier  aa,  |,ors„„,  wore  luu.tiag,  a»  ,l,ould  1,»  not 
Wer  anv  ,t  woald  l.e  a  proof  tl„.t  all  the  native, 
^ould  be  under  arms  to  wage  war  against  them-  timl 

wow""",    'r"  "'""  '"  «"  ""■■"-'^-  "»<'  «"'"  those 
who  were  hnnt.ng,  which  indueed  them  to  return  " 

And  ,«  Vol.  X,  page  32,  in  the  report  of  the  doings 

danng  the  same  period  it  is  reconied:  "A    »rtv  * 

twenty  Abeaakis  of  Jlissiskong,  set  out  towa  ds  Bos 

ton  and  brought  in  some  prisoners  and  sealps  •'  and 

at  aaother  t,me,  oa  page  33  of  the  same  vo  ume  "  A 

TuTw,"   r""',^"''""'''^  "'  '"■'''^''»"«  '-^  -""fitted 
out  who  have  been  n,  the  direetion  of  C'orlard  (Cor 

cap  -"Id"™  "'""':'  """  '''■"'  P-o»ers  and 
A  part,   of  Abenakis  of  Jlisaiskoug  struck  a  blow 

:rarf;:;? '■-'-'•• -^ -»-'-" -eZr 

These,  among  many  other  similar  expeditions  com 
P|^^^«»_report  for  the  time  specified."  ila,;  1,  t^e 


32  KTVSIOMKiY     OF     MllSHlHylJOI. 

exiKMlitioiiH  "Htruck  n  hlow  towards  Boston,"— the 
ctherH  upon  the  Hottlomentf;  along  the  eastern  border 
of  the  State  of  Xew  York. 

Tlie  report  of  Governor  H.  Moore  to  the  Earl  of 
Shelhourne  ai)peirH  in  Vol.  VII,  page  87o,  in  part  as 
follows: 

FoiiT  (Jeoroe,  New  Vohk,  Nov.  8,  17()G. 
I  have  now  the  honor  to  inform  vour  Lordship  that 
the  line  of  Division  between  this  Province  a:'d  (Quebec 
18  fixed  in  the  Hiver  Sorrell  about  two  milets  and  a 
half  below  Windmill  Point,*  so  that  no  i)art  ot  Lake 
Champlain  is  included  in  the  Province  of  Quebec 
except  a  small  portion  of  Missicoui  Bay;  whilst  we 
were  employed  in  this  service,  manv  French  gentle- 
men from  (Quebec  came  to  us  at  Windmill  Point  and 
demanded  from  me  a  confirmation  of  those  Grants 
winch  had  l)een  made  to  them  from  the  French  Crown 
which  not  only  extend  along  Lake  Champlain  and 
cover  both  sides  of  it  but  reach  bevouu  the  carrying 
place  at  Ticonderoga. 

Since  the  Peace  very  large  tracts  on  both  sides  of 
the  Lake  have  been  granted  by  Lieutenant  Governor 
Colden  to  the  reduced  officers  and  disbanded  soldiers 
m  consequence  of  his  Majesty's  Proclamation,  and  the 
i  rcnch  claims  now  made  have  caused  no  small  uneasi- 
ness to  the  Possessors  of  these  Lands,  who.  having  laid 
out  all  their  substance  in  making  settlements,  are 
under  the  greatest  distress  at  the  thoughts  of  being 
dispossessed,  as  such  a  i)roceeding  would  be  followed 
by  inevitable  ruin  to  them  and  their  families. 

*In    17.!1   a  win.hnill  -.vus  built  in  Ali.iirgh  at  a  plucf  then   called 
Pojnte  aux  Al^onquians,  and  since  known  as  Windmill  Point. 


KtVMOI.«kJY     ok     Ml88l!syi-oi.  23 

In  ,1,,.  A„„..,„ii.  of  T , „..  ,„„„„.,..,  „f 

<  I    m,  „,„  ,„  um  ,„„1  ...M, ,  „i,„  ,„  j,„„,.„;' 

"o  h„.,„.|,  1,„.  ,„„„.  „r  ^,,,1,  „  „,u.r.r„v 

tiu  n      In  <  l„„.|,,v„,,'„   „„„,  „,.  ,1,^,  ,|i„,„,„j^      , 

" '"  ■"'"";'''•  '"■"'""■l>  '■  .".»t«k,.  „r  Ihc  ,.„Kruv,.r  i„  „, 
o,s,„«  ,|,e  ,-,     T,„.,_  ,„  „„.  „_^.,.^,  „„,X,»„..l  "V 

frond,  „,^,r„v,.r,  «•>■  „re  i„d,.|,„a  ,•„,,  ,|,^.  'J    ''  ,' 

molo,l,ou».,„u,Kli,w  „,„„„,  Lamoille"  ' 

And  ,n  (l,o  .,,,0,0  vol,„n..,  ,„,Ke  117,  wo  r..,„l  ■  "Mi, 

ixtonds  into  tanada  brtwoon  Kwanton  and  HiKh^to 
"Missiseo  Kivor  rises   in   rn»t,,ji         i 

non,,o„.oH.  o„„,.o  .,,:„:/::;  :rv-s!n: 
-.™»;g;.a.irrv;j;rc::Jz:i: 

""^-     1^0  gth,  about  /.,  miles,  ami  it  drains  about  oH^ 

•'^•juare  miles  in  Vermont."  ^ 

in  reference  to  the  various  names  bv  which  Lake 

mont    IlKstor.cal    Gazetteer    by    llemenwav,    Vol     I 


1^- 


24 


EtYMOI^NIY     or     MlHHItMjUOI. 


•'The  AlwriakwH  <'nllo<l  the  Luko  "Pf-tnn-honqut',*  that 
i8,  'The  waterH  which  lie  between,'  viz.:  them  nnd  the 
Ir(M|U()i8,  ami  by  others  Patairtihoukf,  which  siKniftos 
an  alternation  oi*  water  and  earth.  The  Iro(|UoiB 
uiile<l  it  '('ania-dni-ffmntnte/*  that  is,  'Tlie  hike  that 
is  the  gate  or  door  of  the  country.'  The  Dutch  and 
EiiKlisii  <*alU'd  it  Corlan-,  after  a  Dutcliinan  from 
Sclienectady  who  went  (h)wn  the  hike  in  1(505,  and  was 
drowned  near  Fort  C'assin." 

"A  tract  of  hind  six  leagues  in  length,  along  the 
Missisiiuoi  Hiver  and  Lake  C'hamplain,  by  three 
leagues  in  width  from  north  to  south  was  granted  by 
(Jallisoniere,  Governor,  and  Bigot,  Intendant,  to  Sieur 
Laressone  in  1748,  and  ratified  by  the  King  in  1749." 

•'Foucault  Seigniory  r,  Chnmbly  Kiver,  from 
boundary  line  to  Seigniory  of  Noyau,  two  leagues 
along  river  and  lake  to  Missisquoi  Bay,  was  granted  in 
1733." 

In  Vol,  IX,  page  887,  the  habits  and  customs  of  the 
Algonijuians  are  described  at  length,  and  among  these 
it  is  recorded:  "Four  or  five  young  men  sing  and 
beat  time  with  the  drum  and  sisiiiuoi,*  and  the  women 
keep  time  and  do  not  lose  a  step;  it  is  very  entertain- 
ing, and  lasts  almost  the  entire  night."  And  "they 
lodge  ])artly  under  Apa(iuois,  which  are  made  of  mat 


•From  Kanyatare,  the  Molmwk  word  for  lake,  and  Kanhoharonde,  a 
door. 

tPronoiinceci  sesecquali,  a  rattlo  generally  made  from  a  gourd.  The 
MissiBquoi  River  rontains  numerous  water-falls  of  very  eonsiderable 
height,  the  sound  of  which  may  have  reminded  the  aborigines  of  the 
Bound  of  their  sisiquois,  and  prompted  the  bestowal  of  that  name  upon 
the  river. 


ETyMoi,*KJV   or   MrsHWgtoi. 


2r> 


grnsH."  Fii  n  note  nt  tlio  bottom  of  the  pjiKo  tlio  fol- 
lowing oxplanntion  jm  gWrn:  ••Apn(iuoiH--mattin,'X 
inmlo  from  fluK  or  ruslu's— from  Aptc,  a  leaf,  atui 
WifhlHoiam,  a  Imt." 

Joining  tlio  radical  or  terminal  <iunis  to  tlip  <malify. 
ing  a.ljoctiv«.  .l//.s/,y  compiotfs  the  naiuo  Misi.s.|uoi'8, 
and.  with  tlu'  explanation  given  of  qnois,  seems  to  con- 
firm the  explanation  of  the  word  as  given  in  the  Gazet- 
teer of  Vermont  as  a  place  of  "mm-li  grass,"  i.  e.,  cat- 
tail flag  (Tifpha  Intifolm)  and  hullrushes  {Hvirpns 
l(int.stri.s)—''u  miry  place,"  a  hog  or  marsh. 

In  White's  "Early  History  of  New  England,"  Con- 
cord, X.  II.,  1H41,  cousiderahle  space  is  devoted  to  the 
various  incursi(ms  of  the  Ahena<iuis  Indians  into  New 
Eii,7land,  their  depredations  and  captives.    On  page 
1(17  i.s  recordc!  (aeir  attack  on  Vernon,  in  the  State  of 
Vermont,  in  1755,  and  the  experiences  of  some  of  their 
prisoners  in  captivity.    Among  these  taken  to  Canada 
were  a  Mrs.  Howe  and  several  of  her  children— one  an 
infant  in  her  arms.    After  relating  their  toils,  depri- 
vations and  hanlships  before  reaching  :^Iontreal,  the 
narrative    continues:    "Speedily    after,    the    Indians 
commenced  their  winter  hunting."     Mrs.   Howe  was 
then  ordered  to  return  her  child  to  the  captors.    The 
babe  clung  to  her  bosom,  and  she  was  obliged  to  force 
it  away.     She  continues:  "They  carried  it  to  a  place 
called  'Messiskow,'  on  the  border.-    if  the  river  Mis- 
siscoui,  near  the  north  end  of  Lbk;  Chami)lain,  upon 
the  eastern  shore." 
The  place  here  called  "Messiskow,"  to  which  these 


26 


Etymology    of    Missisquoi. 


-il>t.vos  were   taken,   was  doubtless   Swunton   Falls 

^-e  a  very  considerable  nun.ber  of  tbese     ndfa^s' 

Ined  tor  many  years,  and  wi.ere  thev  erected  a  22 

church,  in  the  belfry  of  which  was  tL  fi       be,l  thai 
ever    u  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^^^  ^^  J^. t  b    1  th  t 

mont     The  Jesu.t  fathers  here,  as  in  Canada  brought 

-::r;:;;- iX::;:.^  r  f '': '-'  -^^^ 

iiitii   spiritual  wants  and  were  tho  Inef  +^ 

The    i)resent    villatre    of    T,-^,-     •      ..i 
part  of  the  St.,  fo     7%  •'    '"    ^^'^    northern 

renin  ofctf    l\      '™'"*'  "^^  '^"^  «  ^''^^'^  -^ 
renuezNous  for  the  Abenaquis  Indians,  and  from  earii 

est  times  it  was  known  bv  the  nan)P  nf\f  ' 

tl,r^*°f  r''.  '■°'''™"''  *«■"■■""'  ■'"'•■">i"83  given  to 

1.0  word   jr,ss,s,„,„i   in   ,|,e   .-eeords  of  «,e   ,„s^    T 

de,.KW   to   consult   the    leading   anthorit  1  Z   kl 

~n  a";  ""  "r  ""'""'  '""'^''«"  ""<■  ^^"'-   ■ 
i  tiren  addressed  an  „„,uir,v  to  tlie  well-known  A\^n„ 

;.."™  se„„,a,,  Williata  Wallaee  Tooker,    1„"  tn   ' 
ingt"ri'       ■'"•"  "'"""'■"'  '™  voluntesl*. 

Under  date  of  Jan.  10,  1903,  he  wrote  as  follows : 


CARTE  DU  LAC 
CHAMPLALN 

dairJl!!  v""'^";?'  l^P'""  '«  P«rt  do  Cliambly 


i«»?r'*''."'*i'  T,'^  !"  "'«  archives  of  the  "Min- 
istere  ,le  la  Marine  et  dea  Colonies,"  Paris. 


Ueprixluce.!   in   part  exproj^Iy 
for  the 

ETY*MOLO<;y  OF 
MISSISyiOI 

Bv  (iEoRfiB  McAlker,  M.D. 


Etymology    op    Missisquoi. 


27 


On  the  Xame  Missisquoi. 
Dr.  George  McAleer, 

Worcester,  Mass. 

Dear  Sir:    After    th.    English    forces    from    Fort 

1  K'h moud   under  Captain  Johnson  Harmon,  attacked 

the  Abnak,  Ind.ans  of  Maine,  at  Xorridgewock  on  the 

Kennebec  K.ver,  Ang.  li>,  1724,  burnt  their  fort  and 

sion,^  tl"'  ''7  ''"'•  '''^^''"-  '''^'^'^  ^'-  French  mil 
sioiiciix  there,  the  survivors  migrated  west  to  the  head 

ot  Lake  (  hamphiin,  then  under  control  of  the  French 
Colomsts  of  Canada.     Sieur  Auger,  the  King^s^  sur 
e.  or,  made  a  draft  of  this  section  for  the  French  in 
17J2^  whereon  he  locates  the  "River  Michiscouy,"  in 
the  State  o    Vermont,  then  in  the  Seigniorv  of  de  Beau- 
vo.s.     I„  the  grant  of  173;?,  to  Lafontaine,  the  aS- 
nm  waters  are  called  "Bay  of  Missiskouv."    In  1746 
IS  mentioned  the  Abenaki  of  Missiskoui.  "in  the  oper- 
ations of  the  French  in  Xew  England  and  New  York 
in  1/46,  we  find  in  the  record  that  "twentv  Abenakis 
of  Missiskoui  set  out  toward  Boston  and  broughri^ 
some  prisoners  and  scalps."    In  the  English  records 
of  ]  (,/  a  petition  was  filed  for  lands  "to  be  laid  out 
oil  the  south  of  Missickoui  Bay."    Again  in  1770   a 
grant  was  macle  for  "2000  acres  of  land  in  the  bay  o? 
Mis  ichoiu  on  the  east  side  of  Lake  Champlain."    On 
Sauthier's  map   of   1779   is   laid  down   {he  "Bav  " 
River"  and  "Island  of  Missiskoui."    On  the  island 
are  marked  the  words  "Indian  Castle. "Vhichlnay 
indicate,  possibly,  where  the  Abenakis  lived 

On  the  same  map,  round  about  the  bay,  are  indicated 
several  extensive  marshes  or  swamps,  witli  the  largest 
one  at  the  head  of  the  bay.     It  was  to  the  e  swamps 
or  marshes  I  believe  the  name  was  originally  apnlTed 
and  from  thence  transferred  by  the  Frend   and  Eng' 


m 


28 


Etymology    of    Missisquoi. 


ish  to  tlie  bay  and  river  without  regard  for  its  signif- 
icance, as  was  often  tlie  case  witli  Indian  names 

Ihe  j.ersistence  of  the  form  shows  this  derivation  to 
be  quite  evident  Therefore,  I  translate  the  nt^'a^ 
a     great  miry  place,"  -great  muddv  place." 

s./^!;''ir  "•'"^^^^""'"''^  '««^/*-^^^^--«^-.  Del.  Mach.as. 
s>so  Afass.  missi.assqHo.a},eu,~gvi'Kt,  mirv  place." 
Tlie  ermination  om  is  the  French  fonn,'and  fre- 
quently occurs  m  Indian  names  in  the  French  noL- 

Yours  very  truly, 

William  Wallace  Tookfk. 

To  this  I  made  answer  that  I  was  very  familiar  with 
the  Maine  wilderness,  that  I  had  many  times  followed 
the  old  Indian   trails  through  the  woods  and   over 
mountains  from  that  State  into  Canada  and  back  again, 
that  I  had  been  over  the  route  from  NorridgewocK  by 
way  of  the  Dead  Kiver  over  the  "height  of  land  " 
which  is  the  summit  of  the  Boundary  Mountains,  thence 
by  Lake  Megantic  and  the  Chaudiere  Ri-p.  to  Quebec 
the  route  travelled  by  the  missionaries  of  the  olden 
time,  by  Benedict  Arnold  and  his  detachment  of  Con- 
tinental soldiers  to  attack  Quebec,  and  by  the  Indians 
from  earliest  times  in  their  periodical  migrations;  and 
that  as  they,like  others, operated  along  the  line  of  least 
resistance,  they  would  be  much  more  likely  to  reach 
Lake  Champlain  by  this  route  and  the  St.  Lawrence 
Richelieu,  St.  Francis  or  other  rivers,  than  bv  jour- 
neying through  dense  and  almost  impenetrable  forests 
and  over  mountains,  morasses  and  lakes  to  reach  the 
head  waters  of  the  river  Missisquoi,  following  which 


Etymology   op   Mir^isQuoi.  29 

in  their  canoes  to  its  moutli  would  bring  them  to  Lake 
Champlain. 

I  also  mentioned  the  fact  that  in  the  science  of  Ich- 
thyology,  there   is   a   variety   of  the   species  Sahno 
known  as  Sisco,  Siscowet  (pronounced  Siscowav),  and 
mquired   if  this,   in  conjauction  with   the  adjectival 
l^refix  Mts.l,  as  indicating  a  ])lace  of  much  fish,  might 
not  he  the  origin  of  the  word,  and  if  so  would  it  not 
prove  the  key  to  its  meaning.     I  also  informed  him 
that  there  was  no  marsh— "much  mirv  i)lace"— along 
the  shores  of  the  bay,  but  that  it  was  coarse  gravel 
boulders  and  rocks,  which  would  seem  to  indica'-^  that 
the  name  with  this  meaning,  as  given,  was  a  misfit. 
To  this  I  received  tho  following  reply : 

Sag  Harbor,  X.  Y.,  Jan.  21,  1905. 
George  McAleer,  M.  D. 

My  dear  Sir:  Yours  of  the  19th  came  to  hand  in 
due  season,  and  contents  duly  noted.  You  evidently 
know  more  about  the  topography  of  the  Maine  wilder- 
ness and  Lake  Champlain  than  I  do.  It  nmst  have 
been  very  mteresting  to  travel  over  those  old  trails 
and  roads,  when  the  historical  events  connected  with 
them  are  carried  in  one's  mind. 

x\ow  as  to  Missisquoi,  I  still  adhere  to  my  transla- 
tion, tor  the  name  belonged  to  a  ''great  miry  place  " 
somewhere  thereabout,  and  perhaps  to  some  part  of 
the  river,  as  that  stream  first  bears  the  name  in  the 
records  of  the  white  man.  Sauthier's  map  (Docu- 
mentary History  of  Xew  York,  Vol.  I)  shows  swamps 
at  the  head  of  the  bay. 


30 


Etymoloov    of    Mjssfsquoi. 


Now  tlie  Indians  were  very  literal  in  the  use  of 
words,  and  the  use  of  misi  or  micJu,  nieanhVgreat 
arge,  extensive,  was  not  permitted  in  the  sen!e  of 
plenty  as  u.  your  translation.  While  it  could  be  used 
to  denote  a  "great  fish."  or  a  "great  water-fowl  ''U 
must  not  apply  to  a  place.  To  denote  a  great  fisliinl 
place  another  term  would  be  used.  Sometimes  hf 
prehx  denotes  the  species  of  the  fish  taken      Again  I 

hsh.  In  all  j.lace  names  ,n  which  the  name  for  fish 
occurs  as  a  tenninal  or  prefix,  it  is  namees.     This  is 

XnZ?"  "'"''  "^''"^^"^  designating  the  species,  and 
when  the  spec.es  ,s  named  the  terminal  ndica  es  a 
"fishmg  place  "  or  "where  fish  are  plenty."    I  can 

fccer,rblo     T^'  ''"'""'  ^^'>'  ^'^"^  translation  is  not 
acceptab  e.     The  same  name  occurs  on  Long  Island 
applied  to  a  marsh,  as  -Assasquog,"  which    as  you 
W.1I  no^ce,  does  not  have  the  pU,'  or  else  haJ  fost 
It,  but  M  assa.^quog  cognates  Missisquoi. 

oa^^Zl'  ""l''"'  '*''''^/'''  etyir^ology  is  Miss-askgn- 
og,  the  great  grass  place,"  or  a  place  "where  the 
great  rushes  grow." 

Both  names  were  applied  to  swamps  or  marshes 
where  rushes  or  reeds  were  got  for  making  baskets 

ij;;,   ^  ^'''^^^  ^^  "^«  ^^«J^et  rush,"-Manowt,  "a  bas- 

Yours  very  truly, 

William  Wallace  Tooker. 

To  this  I  made  reply,  when  I  took  opportunity  to 
mention  the  etymologj-  of  the  word  as  given  by  Bishop 
Baraga  and  others,  coupled  with  suggesti^jus  and 
inquiries,  to  which  I  received  the  following  reply 


ETYMor,oov    OF    A[issis(iioi.  .^j 

^■^*'  Hakboh,  X.  v.,  Jan.  DO.  V.m:y 
Dear  Dr  MrAlrrr:   Your  |..„g  letter  and  pamphlets 
wore  very  interesting.  ' 

HJ.rT/'T  *■"".  •'''  f'""'""''  ^^''^''  ^'"'  "^^0""ts  of  the 
hgit  a  Narantsouak  from  French  sources  i„  the 
(olon.al  II.Htory  of  Xew  York.  Vol.  [X,  as  there  s 
"'"(•.  ..bout  the  Ahenakis  in  that  volume.  Thev  could 
reach  (anada  .n  ajew  days  (page  !>4()).  TheV  were 
at  M  «s.s(,«o,  ,n  J72.^  (page  IK!!)).  Thev  wen",  there 
;n  l..f.  (pageK)r,L>).  One  hundred  and'tiftv  went  lo 
(  anada  ,n  !,:.>.,  ,n  a  .h'j.h.rahle  condition  (page  i)38) 
After  the  fight  one  hundred  and  fiftv  go  to^^ether 
(Charlevo.x,  Vol.  V,  page  270,  Shea's  EdUion  .'^  S 
IS  my  authority. 

foi^n  '''^!^  ^^]^^^^^f^ino\,  this  termination  is  a  ,,lural 

oim       Hhr>u,h-,s,  Al>ni<,qn,s,  Ahnwq„oi,  are  simnlv 

he  Kngl.sh  and  French  plural   tenninations.     sZ 

^rabrn,  -    w  East,"-.Av.  "land."     So  with  Abena- 

quis  or  Abenaquois,  "the  East  landers,"  the  people 

"alftir-r^i^^i:^'^'^"^-''/^'^^^^-^^'!-^^-     This 

"Big  Squaw"  is  foolish. 
ijl^^uTf'f!^  ^^""  «*■  tJ^«  "«'"e  is  that  on  a  ma,,  of 

XnJ:  "^"^  "  ""^"^^^"  ^— t  --  known 

emntier'^Tf^f  "^'k   ^  '^'  ^^'^^^  ^"*«  ^^"«»^  «^^  ^iver 
empties.    It  described  most  probably  some  portion  of 

Siic^th^'  '"^  r^'^t/^^  ^^^««J-  ^'^"«y  through 
which  the  river  flows.    The  word  could  be  translated 

IhTm  mZT'  V"  ^^'""'"■"■ed  nearly  the  san^e  n.  the  French  ui. 
In  old  Ab  naquis  it  represented  oonsonantal  w,-w'  followed  bj  the 
-Ithor       "'  "-P-duein,  a  «ou„d  midway  between  aui  .nloau. 


82  EtYMOLoay   of    Miswisquoi. 

the  great  valley  or  place  of  great  g'ass     Are  vm, 

cou>.     The  word  lor  grass  and  marsh  is  so  near  alike 
that^  ,t  ,s  almost  impossible  to  distinguish  between 

Your  etymologies  are  all  contrary  to  Algonquian 
nomenela  ure,  and  are  all  unacceptable  fronTmy  s  and 

You  must  get  your  mind  off  of  the  bav  and  put  it 
on  the  nver,  where  it  was  bestowed  in  173i,  1732  m3 
etc     Can  you  give  an  earlier  date?     There  is  a' place 

runs     ^T'  ''^'^•^'  ^'""'^'^  "^'-''    »    ^'i'-ad 
runs.     \V as  this  a  grassy  \alley .' 

Yours  very  trulv, 

William  Wallace  Tooker. 

Seeking  further  information  for  or  against  the 
various  explanations  given,  I  next  addressed  an 
inquiry  to  the  well-known  Indian  scholar,  William 
Jones,  of  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  to  which  I  received  the  fol- 
lowing reply : 

77th  Street  and  Eighth  Avenue, 

Dr,  George  McAleer,  >         ■    , 

Worcester,  Mass. 

My  dear  Sir:  I  have  your  letter  asking  for  the  ety- 
mology and  meaning  of  the  Indian  word  Missisquoi 
or  Missisco     My  work  in  Algonquian  has  been  Tn 
fined  to  dialects  of  the  Great  Lake  region,  and  I  can- 
not locate  the  word  from  that  place.  '    ""  ^  can 

At  any  rate  Misi  looks  as  if  it  might  be  the  samp  «a 
an  initial  stem  Mes,  Mis  or  Mch,  wLh  conveys Tdeas 


Etymology    of    MiHsisquor. 


33 

land  Algoriqiiian  .lialect.  voii  miirlTl   ,„  „hi„  .  ?' 

down  .,,.  „„i„g  Tru,„bnir,  N™^"    l.^fj";,;  "'»  ■' 

a  good  (loal  of  work  wifl    v       J    T     "'  ^'"'^  ^'^  -e 
dialects.  ''•/''  ^^^'  ^^"^''«"<^  Algonqu,an 

Vours  very  truly, 

William  Joxes. 

Acting  upon  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Jones    1  wrote 
the  following  letter  to  Professor  Prince: 

Worcester,  Feb.  15,  1905. 
P««*;,  J.  Dyneley  Prince, 
Columbia  University, 
New  York,  N.  Y.' 

si^Ificafen  of'ttrSf:-'  *,"  I'i""  «■'  °"«'°  """ 
sesoo  as  formerly  sndted/r     '"l»'"^T'oi.  °r  Mis- 

and  kno^t  il^^Jtoi  Say"  "■^'^''^  '-""  ^'-''i'' 
diattt'^ll  a"  £r,t  ,'"•'"'"  "'"^»«''  -O 

ada,  a.ree  t^at  t.e  worT;r„V^.t^<^»7rd  if  ^Z 


.'W 


Etym()i,<kjy   of    MissisQiror. 


poHod  of  Misi,  miu'h,  Kivat,   hig,  many,  ami   ikav 
i^fheir—i.sfiurir,  isfnrmr,  women. 

This  etymolojfv  dot's  not  connnend  itself  to  me,  not 
bouiff  in  harmony  with  Irxlian  oustom,  hosides  being 
arletehed,-  forcing  a  word  of  C'ree  origin  upon  the 
language  of  tin'  Ahena.|uis,  a  more  eastern  and  dis- 
tant people  wJK.  had  at  least  a  different  dialect  if  not 
a  dilTeretit  language,  and  who  would  doubtless  use  a 
different  word  from  that  used  by  the  Crees  to  express 
the  same  meaning. 

Some   New    England   autliorities,   probablv   basing 
their    information    upon    the    explanation    given  by 
earlier  writei  ■  who  may  have  been  mistaken,  claim 
that  the  name  signifies  a  bog,  a  marsh,  a  miry  place  a 
place  of  much  reeds  or  grass,  and  the  like,  but  as  such 
places  were  abundant  elsewhere  in  the  territorv  inhab- 
ited by  the  eastorn  Indians,  and  as  it  was  the  common 
practice  of  the  Indians  to  give  the  same  name  to  like 
conditions  wherever  found  without  reference   '         <} 
number  of  times  it  was  bestowed,  and  as  this  u^uie 
does    not    occur  elsewhere,  it  would  seem  to  be  too 
radical  a  departure  from  their  usual  custom  to  be 
accepted  on  less  than  very  conclusive  evidence. 

Moreover,  there  are  no  extensive  marshes  along  the 
shore  of  Missisquoi  Bay,  and  as  such  morasses  were 
called  Muskegs  and  Pokelokens  by  the  Algonquian 
Indians,  this  meaning  given  to  the  word  would  also 
seem  mal-apropos. 

The  river  Missisquoi  in  early  times  was  famous  for 
the  large  quantities  of  trout  and  other  edible  fish  taken 
from  its  waters,  and  may  not  the  aboriginal  name 
CISCO  or  siscoet  (pronounced  siscoway),  at  the  present 
tune  limited  to  a  variety  of  the  Salmo  family,  and  now 
found  elsewhere,  then  have  had  a  broader  and  more 


ETYMOLfKiY     W     MlsmnqioU 


I 

f 


a> 


coJiiprelnMisive  vignifl(.„( 


ion  ?    C'r  niny  not  the  variety 


Certain  it  is  that  tlio  rn.Unni   .;, 
i.     ii  ..„  radical  .s/.svo  or  siscnirrf    oitm/] 

to  t ,«  <|.ml,r.vi„«  „,,,i,,,iv„  .l/«;,  ,„„ki„;  J     ,'„'    "  ,r 

m  r  nSrri;'"';'''  "'■■  '''!"■"■''"  "'-■•  "'"■ "™ 

iiiiMt.  pion.llilN   r)o  to  true  oriiy  n  nP  fli.>  ,..      i         i     . 
in  hannnnv  tvifi.  41  1    "'^'"  "'  ^''<'  ^^'>r<l,  and  a  so 

111  iinnnonv  uitn  tlie  usvia   cnstnm  nF  fi.«  t„  i-  • 

bestowing  ,.h.co  nan.s,  ^(^-nZ^^^'^t'tllT^ 
"'K  l.Inee.  a   place   where   fish   abm.m       TInl  1h 
explanation  I  have  nevor  seen  hin  e     ,.f    I  ^i  I 

commente  upon  the  subject  matteVof  this   Je"  and 

.ttx;Ta  "e^pTi /r  '•""  ™-'^-'- ""' 

Yours  most  respectfully, 

George  AIcAleeh. 


To  this  I  received  the  following  reply: 


15  Lexington  Ave., 

n.n    n     ,r  .,       ^^^  YoBK,  N.  Y,  Feb.  20, 1905. 

Dear  Dr.  McAleer:  I  have  read  your  letter  relatini. 
to  the  name  Missisquoi,  a  river  in  the  noirrn  3 
Vermont,  and  after  taking  several  days  to  let  ^t  sink 


M 


EtVMOLOOY     or     Ml8HI8<Jiroi. 


inhJ[  -IT  *'""!"  *"  ^''**  f""'>^"»K  e.)nclu«ion«,  which  I 
Bubniit  to  you  herewith :  "»^n  i 

Firnt    yon  are  urulouhtodly  ri..<ht  in   rejeftin«r  the 

modern   Abonnk.,  ami  vvoul.l  not  he  ...socl   to  .l.-note 

^omnn  Lh,  pvhmini  always.  The  a.l.i,.,.tival  element 
nus^  ,s  however,  r.ever  used  in.lep.ndentiv,  but  al^^ 
connected  w.th  what  follows:  thus,  Missim  ..uhj 
mean  1,,^  nver  arul  ..isiislnn,  u.iKht  mean  '.."i'^ 
woman."  only  \()T  in  Abenaki.  ^ 

Of  course  you  are  riA,'l.t  in  your  Sprarhrfrfiihl  in 
«n,v.nff  hat  this  is  .-ontrary  to  fndian  customs.  S  we 
eliminate  that  supposition. 

Seconclly,  1  do  not  be.ieve  the  natne  has  anvthinir  to 

0  w.th  trout,  the  word  for  which  in  Abenaki,    "'far 

If"'''     '"  ''■"''"'*•  '^  ""^  •"■•^■'•'^'  '"•*  •^•^•"  '"'".  "red 
trout;     and  namafnr,  generally  used  of  "ifrev  trout-" 

c.  f.  msanamagiv,  -salmon,"  i.  e.,  "big  trout  " 

"trm^-'irr  '  \^''m  ^f'-^!"?"'^'^-^^«  given  as  meaning 
trout  ,n  Trumbull's  Natick  Dictionary,  but  this  is 
^ar  away  from  our  form,  and  I  cannot  establish  it  s" 
where.  B.g  red  trout  would  be  in  Abenaki  msi-sko- 
tarn,  which  18  too  far  away  for  us. 

1  believe  that  the  form  Missesco  is  from  Abenaki 
msa-skog  and  means  -big  snake."    The  form  Sis 
quo,,  with  ending  uoi,  suggested  to  me  at  onc^^S]  . 
hva,   ''b.g   rattlesnake."    Sisikwa    (pronounced   sle- 
seekwah)  means  -  rattler"  and  never  auvthing  else 
It  IS  quite  possible  that  the  territory,  or  part  of  it' 

hrough  which  the  Missisquoi  River  ran,  was  at  one 
time  infested  with  snakes  or  rattlesnakes  If  it  °s 
marshy,  as  you  suggest  in  one  part  of  your  letter,  this 


KtVMOMKJV     ok     MlMHIH^t,,! 


3 
t 

J 


i 


M 


37 
iH  nil  tl...  more  likoly.     I  ,v^„r,,  .MiHHi«,,„oi  „,„,  mjh- 

HOM<'0  HH   two   (JiMtilKt    formM. 

It  is  extmrn-ly  .iinin.lt  to  ju,Jm..  of  the  nu-aninK  of 
mo.l.rn.^e.      In.han    mm.s    i,.    wl.it.    .nan's    ?onu 
TiMs  you   know,  of  ,.„urs...      I   will   ^i„.   ,,„   „   ,„   "; 

F»I«M     I.    tlu.   A.l.ron.ln.-ks.    NVhasn^'.    wlnVI.    ho   savM 
"H.ans  'MH.av,.r  on  a  In^.-  i„  |po.,„ois.     .  <lonl,  H      j^ 
»"«>  wrot.;  lo  n.y  fri.n.l,  l-ntlMT  Forh..s  at  Can.Hn  a  va-' 

m.  tl.nt  m/,.,.v«,   Hunply  nu'ans  "I.,  voila."  '•tluTe  h« 
IS   -- and  IH  a  (•.•mnion  expression. 

e  aeeouMts  f<,r  Dr.  Wehh's  n.oanin^.  l,--  supposing 
ha     son.oone   ,n    ...rly   Ways   lu-anl    an    Indian    sny 

was  seen   before  .pnnpinK  into  the  water,   when   thi 
wiMte  man  unn.e<liately  ,.onelu.le<]  that  this  was  t  e 
word  for  heaver !     I  finniy  believe  that  this  is    1  "Jay 
)r.  Mohb  ffot  Ins  vvonl.     I  know  of  sin.ilar  instances 
m  other  d.aleets.  although  f  am  no  rro,uoian  nns^If 
r  would   be  gla.l  to  hear  from   vrni  again   in  this 
tTwh[:,ri    ""  "^'-r  "'"^'>  "'^"^-^^''  '"  alfAmeHea   " 
taken  up  by  my  work  in  Snnitira. 

Vours  sincerely, 

•I.  DvxKLEY  Prince. 

J.  D.  P. 

And  later,  in  answer  to  some  further  objections  aiid 
suggestions,  Professor  Prince  wrote  agaiii  as  follows: 


38 


Etymology  of   Missisquoi. 


Columbia  University, 
New  York  City,  Feb.  24,  1905. 
Dr.  George  McAleer, 

Worcester,  Mass. 
Dear  Sir:  I  cannot  refrain  from  saying  another 
fnendy  word  about  Missisquoi.  I  note  from  your 
etter  that  you  still  cling  to  the  idea  that  the  elment 
sesco  or  stsco  has  something  to  do  w  h  fisT  I 
assure  you  as  one  who  has  a  good  colloquia  knowledge 
of^Abenaki  that  this  element  cannot  mlan  fish  If  an^ 

will  a  quittered  h.  As  to  the  variety  of  the  snelHn<r« 
of  the  name,  they  really  signify  little,  and  Le  probf 
bly  nothing  more  than  a  number  of  methods  of  spelt 
mg  introduced  by  unlettered  whites  in  their  efforts  o 
EstoVth'f "°  pronunciation.    If  ^ou  wilUa^ 

kwrS   L  fI     7"-  '"^^r"^  pronounced  Missis 
Kwa  with  the  French  ot  sound,  to  any  Abenaki  Tnd,«n 

or     big  snake.       The  word  is  quite  evidently  a  French 

th    Tne'arr''/':^'^"^'^  '''''''^'  -bfg^nake '' 
nakf''both  oftT\7   ^'<^-^i^ik.^va,    "big   rattle- 
to  the  reS.  '  """'  ^'"'  ^^^^  ^PP"^*^ 

wifhorsavint'  r'  ''"*'  ?"'^  P"P^^  f«^  publication 
without  sa>ing  the  name  to  an  intelligent  Abenaki 
Indian  or  you  will  be  terribly  attacked  by  some  one 
hk^  Gerard  who  has  made  a  specialty  of 'th:Tast"n 

Personally  I  could  talk  Abenaki  nearly  as  fast  as 

otfatfve^ '  '"^  '-'T  "^^  — ^^^^-^  «-:y 
.    ax  8.  Yours  very  truly, 

J.  Dyneley  Prince. 


s 


Etymology   of   :\rissisQuoi.  39 

This  positive  piscatorial  pronouncement  of  Profes- 
sor Prince  prompted  further  investigation  along  these 
Imes.  In  a  contribution  to  the  pages  of  the  "Journal 
of  American  Foik-Lore,"  page  240  et  seq.,  from  the 
pen  of  Dr.  Alexander  F.  Chamberlain,  Fellow  of  Clark 
University,  Worcester,  Mass.,  entitled  "Aloonkian 
Worfis  in  American  English:  a  Stiidi/  in  the  Contact 

of  the  White  Man  and  the  Indian,"  occurs  the  follow- 
ing: 

Cisco  (Sisco),  a  name  ai)plied  to  certain  species  of 
fish  found  in  the  Great  Lakes  and  adjoining  waters: 
(1)  The  Lake  ''moon  eye"  (Coregonus  hoyi);  (2) 
The  Lake  herring  (Coregonus  artedi).  The  word  is 
probably  derived  from  one  of  the  AJgonkian  dialects 
ot  this  region. 

Ciscoette.    A  name  of  the  Lake  herring,  apparently 
derivative,  with  French  diminutive  suffix,  from  Cisco 
but  rather  a  corruption  of  Siskowit. 

Siscou-it.  The  name,  which  has  also  the  forms  sis- 
cowet,  siscoette,  siskowit,  etc.,  is  applied  both  to  a 
variety  of  the  Great  Lake  trout,  "Mackinaw  trout" 
iSalmo-namayciish),  and  to  a  Lake  herring  (Sisco)  is 
by  some  writers  referred  to  as  "an  Ojibwa  SiskawiV^ 

And  in  the  History  of  the  Missisco  Vallev,  by  Sam- 
uel Sumner,  M.  A.,  published  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Orleans  (bounty  (Vt.)  Historical  Societv,  I860  it  is 
recorded  on  page  6:  "Four  people  in  one  day 'about 
the  year  1800  caught  more  than  500  pounds  of  trout  in 
a  pond  near  the  foot  of  Bald  Mountain  in  Westmore  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  county." 


40 


Etymology   of   Missisquoi. 


W  H  H  V  '"T""""  """  "»  «''"^»."  Ov  Rev. 
IW-Tt  W  ™'l  »°''""'  ''"**■  "  ''  """"d  »  page 
stream  but  to  a  peculiar  degree  historic.  The  Abena 
q«.s  I„d,a„s  originally  occupied  the  east  side  of  the" 
lake  from  opposite  Mohawk  Rock  to  the  northern  end 
of   M,ss,s,uoi.B„y,  and   the  Winooski   River  Jas 

ts  banks,  a  favonte  resort  of  theirs.    It  was  aionir 

v^rtL-r"  ""■V":  "'<■  '"O™  '™'  ™»  Which     f 
over  to  the  Connecticut,  and  was  much  used  bv  all  the 

northern  tribes  in  friendship  with  the  Atnaquis  in 

While  Dr.  Chamberlain  authenticates  my  contention 
for  he  name  and  identity  of  the  fish,  and  he  ffis, orv 
of  Missisco  Valley  and  the  Rev.  W  H  H  l^lf '  .  '^ 
My  to  the  former  very  ,reat  aburdafce  of  troutTn  tt 

word  lor  trout,  it  is  not  contended  that  this  proves  the 

2;  If    ^"^'' J^k'-g  hypothesis  it  has  as  many  ele- 
ments  of  probability  to  recommend  it  as  many  others 
that  are  offered  and  warmly  advocated.- 
As  my  investigations  proceeded,  confusion  seemed 

enZr  °rn?;  '1  "''  ""^  ^«muiated  r^^M 
f^^eavor^  I  next  addressed  the  following  letter  to 


5 


Etymology   of   Missisquoi.  41 

Hon.  Desire  Girouard,  D.C.L.,  Q.C.,  MP.,  Judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court    of    the    Dominion    of    Canada. 
Ottawa,  and  author  of  -Lake  St.  Louis  Old  and  New 
and  Cavalier  de  la  Salle" : 

Worcester,  JVIass,  U.S.A.,  May  18,  1905. 
Hon.  Desire  Girouard, 

Judge  Supreme  Court  of  Canada, 
Ottawa,  Ontario. 

of  the  Indian  place  name  formerly  spelled  Missesco 
Missescoui,  anu  various  other  ways  until  officiaHy 
decided  in  its  present  form,  Missisquoi,  some  fifty  or 
more  years  ago;  a  name  of  a  river  in  northern  Ver- 
Zlt'  /  .^'  ""^  *^'^  northern  end  of  Lake  Cham- 
tT'?n  I  ^  """i"^*''  bordering  thereon  in  the  Prov- 
nce  of  Quebec.  I  desire  to  learn  if  the  various  spell- 
ngs  have  a  common  origin  and  signification,  or  if 

and^f  r      wT*  ''''^'  ^^^^'^"^  ^iff^^^^t  meanings, 
and  If  so,  what  they  are.    I  appealed  to  Dr.  Alexande; 
F.  Chamber  am  of  Clark  University,  who  has  given 
much  attention  to  the  language  and  dialects  of  west 
ern  Indians  and  who  has  written  monographs  and  arti- 
ces  for  publication  in  ethnological  journals  thereon, 
but  being  less  familiar  with  the  language  of  the  east- 
ern Indians  he  referred  me  to  you  with  authority  to 
use  his  name  in  this  connection.    Will  you  not  kindly 
come  to  my  aid  and  oblige  me  by  supplying  the  inform- 
ation sought?    By  so  doing  you  will  confer  1  gr^t 
tavor,  and  thanking  you  in  advance  therefor,  I  am. 

Yours  most  respectfully, 

George  McAleer. 

To  which  came  the  following  prompt  reply: 


42 


Etymology   op   Missisquoi. 


The  Supreme  Court  op  Canada. 

Ottawa,  Ontario,  21st  May  1905 
Dear  Doctor:  Your  letter  of  fli«  ififi  t 

"«.>».         1  ours  very  truly, 
And  later:  D-  Girouard. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  Canada. 
Dear  <?,•.■     A  f,  Ottawa,  24tli  June,  1905. 

quoi,''  %:,C  '  MisLw:  r„'  *^^  --e  --Missis- 
French  Crown  in  mr-T/  •  '"^  "l,^^^"*  ^^^^  the 
cial  documenToArsS   '  n/^;Ap"'    >  ^^^"^^^  «ffi- 

"o^.Tin  """'"/  e„™.e  P„i„,.  I'cLto*."'"*"  '' 

lished  in  Levis  POTf   "..r"'"?  P^'odical  pub- 
Augurt  nnmber    ■  A,  T    '''",  P^tably  appear  in  the 

yon  may  get  it  from  the  pnbHsTer  °  '  '°  '■""'  •"" 

lours  very  truly, 
Dr.  George  McAleer.  ^'  ^^^^ard. 


Etymology   op   Missisquoi.  43 

,   In  pursuit  of  further  information,  I  sent  the  follow- 
ing letter : 

WoBCESTER,  Mass.,  May  29,  1905 
Mr.  W.  H.  Holmes, 

Chief  of  Bureau  American  Ethnology, 
Smithsonian  Institution, 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Dear  Sir:  I  am  very  anxious  to  learn  the  derivation 
and  meamng  of  the  Indian  place  name  now  spelled 
Missisquoi-a  name  of  a  river  in  northern  Vermont, 
and  of  a  bay  on  the  northern  end  of  Lake  Champlain 
m  the  Province  of  Quebec.     This  name  has  undergone 
many  changes  in  spelling,  some  of  which  I  subjoin, 
together  with  some  of  the  different  explanations  that 
have  been  given  of  their  origin  and  signification. 
M         ."^"if^'^P?^   adjective,  Mch,  Mich,  Michi,  Use, 
Mis  and  Mtsst,  is  present  in  nearly  all,  but  the  radical 
or  root  word  appears  in  many  forms,  some  of  which 
are  sesco   stsco,  siscoe,   siscoo,   siscoue,  siskoiu,  sis- 
couie,  siskuoy    skoui,  sisquio,  siskoue,  isqua,  isquay, 
isquoi,  tsqm,  ishoug,  etc.,  etc. 
And  some  of  the  meanings  given  are : 
Mes  sisco— a  place  of  much  fish  or  trout. 
Mis  sisiquoi-  a  place  of  much,  many  or  large  gourds 
such  as  the  Indians  used  for  rattles  or  drums,  and  to 
beat  time  with. 

Mis  sesikew— much,  many,  or  great  rattlesnakes. 

Mse  kiskeco-a  place  of  much  grass ;  a  mirv  place ;  a 
place  where  many  willows  grow;  a  place  where  cat-tail 
flag  abounds  (which  was  largely  used  bv  Indians  for 
making  mats). 

Mse  kisco— much  or  many  water-fowl. 

Mis  ikew,  or  iskwew— big  or  great  woman. 

These  derivations  and  meanings  are  furnished  by 


44 


Etymology   or    Missisquoi. 


some  of  the  leading  authorities  of  the  past  and  hv 
Indmn  scholars  of  the  present  time,  and  2  is  nosf 
tive  of  the  correctness  of  his  rendering   nnS  i  ^  u 

The  courtesy  of  your  consideration  and  aid  will  hp 
highly  appreciated  by,  my  dear  sir, 

Yours  most  respectfully, 

George  McAleeb. 

Smithsonian  Institution. 

Bureau  of  American  Ethnology. 

n.     c-     ^       ^^SHiNGTON,  D.  C,  June  5,  1905. 

of  ^he  wt'rd  Ir-  ^"'^''  ^^  ^^^''  -^  ^^k^°^  «^«  "meaning 
ot  the  word  Mtssisqnoi  is  at  hand,  and  I  beg  to  irivf 

you  the  statement  furnished  by  Mr.  Hewitt    who  L 

our  best  expert  in  the  languages  of  the  ETst:  Jussls. 

quot  IS  seemingly  either  from  Missi,  great  lar^e«nH 

rhvew  or  iskwew,  a  woman,  and  thu/s7^ifies  f  lar^e 

c  ay,  which  would  make  it  signify  large  or  ei^eat  cl^v 
place.    You  will  see,  therefore,  that  if  relat^ed  to  tr 

meaning  ot  the  word  can  be  given,  however   as  ikip/I 
m  New  England,  the  entire  hiftory'o,  itsTse  mLTbe 

Very  truly  yours, 

(Signed)    W.  H.  PIolmes, 

Dr.  George  McAleer,  ^^^®^- 

Worcester,  Mass. 


Reproduced  in  part  expm«ly  f,,r 

THE  ETYMOLfXJY  OF  MISSISQT'OI 

Bv  GEOBciE  .McAleek,  M.D. 


Etymoloov   of   MissisQuor,  45 

^^ To  this  letter  of  Mr.  Holmes  I  made  the  following 

Worcester,  .Mass.,  June  12,  1905. 
Mr.  \V.  H.  Holmes, 

Chif^-  Bureau  American  Ethnologv, 
Smithsonian  Institution, 
Washington,  I).  ('. 

Dear  Sir:  I  have  your  fuvor  of  June  oth,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  Indian  place  name  Missiscjuoi,  now  before 
me.  ^ou  state  that  "before  the  abso'.ute' meanhig  o? 
the  word  can  be  given,  however,  as  used  in  Xew  Eng- 
land  tne  entire  history  of  its  use  must  be  known  " 

Ihe  only  place  on  this  continent  ever  known  by  this 
name  is  the  river  in  northern  Vermont,  from  which  it 
was  given  to  that  portion  of  Lake  Champlain  near  by 
which  extends  into  (^anada  and  now  known  as  Missis- 
quoi  Bay,  and  later  (about  1800)  it  was  given  to  the 
county  borderimr  thereon  in  Canada. 

The  name  01  ....  ..  .:r  was  originallv  si)elled  Mes- 

sesco  as  was  aho  the  village  of  Troy  Vermont, 
when  first  namec ,  and  it  was  so  called  until  Octobe; 
26,  1803,  about  tlie  time  that  the  wave  for  cha-iging  the 
aboriginal  to  clvssic  names  swept  over  the  country! 
when  It  was  given  its  present  name.  In  its  orthogra- 
phy tins  name  has  undergone  many  changes.  It  is 
spelled  on  a  map  made  by  Sieur  Auger  in  173'^  ^f^chi, 
cou^,,^nd  later  in  1779,  it  is  spelled  on  South;;'s  map 
MISSIS  koui.  Various  other  modifications,  some  of 
which  were  mentioned  in  my  previous  letter,  Imve 
occurred  in  the  spelling,  until  it  became  fixed  in  the 

uZTLr""  r.r  *'"''  "*''"''  *'^«  ^«»"t>'  bordering 
upon  the  bay  of  this  name  was  established 

You  mention  Missi  iskeiv  as  a  probable  origin  of 

the  word.     Indian  scholars  pronounce  this  inadmissi- 


46 


Etymology   or   Missisguoi. 


id  thi  r'  -."^  ^M«""«^«»i«.  t»'e  latter  of  whom  occu- 

led  the  territory  .n  (,ue8tion,  aud  the  former  were 

heir  nearest  neigh1>ors  ou  the  opposite  side  of  the 

lake;  one  of  which  tribes  doubtless  bestowed  the  name 

with  the  probabilities  in  favor  of  the  latter  ' 

1  am  very  anxious  to  probe  this  matter  to  the  bot- 

t'wint*'  '"'I'l  ""^^''  f*^'"^'"^-^  «^  *^«  ^oXo  that 
vnZiu     Tl^"'^  "'  authoritative,  and  sincerely  trus 
you  will  not  deem  me  too  importunate  when  I  crave 
your  further  valuable  aid. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Geoboe  McAlebr. 

►Smithsonian  Institution. 
Bureau  of  American  Ethnology. 

Washington,  D.  C,  June  13, 1905. 
Dear  Sir:  I  have  your  letter  of  June  12  rejfardinir 
the  signification  of  Missisquoi,      1  will  refer  it  to  S 
members  of  the  bureau  as  may'      able  toTrow  f uXeJ 
light  upon  Its  meaning.      A    all  of  our  people  are 
extremely  busy  in  completing  work  to  be  submftted  at 
the  c  ose  of  the  fiscal  year,  June  30,  it  is  not  iSely 
that  they  can  give  any  time  to  the  inquiry  for  the 
present,  but  I  will  see  that  it  is  attended^to  al  the 
earliest  possible  datf.-. 

Very  truly  yours, 

W.  H.  Holmes, 
JDr.  George  McAleer,  Chief. 

Worcester,  Mass. 

I  next  sought  the  desired  information  from  a  mis- 
sionary of  the  Abenakis  at  Pierreville,  P.  Q,  Canada. 


Etymoi^oov   of    MisHisyuoi.  47 

Worcester,  Mxm.,  U.S.A.,  July  5111.  1!)0.-). 

Rev.   JoSKf'II   DK  OoNZAOUE, 

St.  TnoMAH  de  Piekheviu.e,  P.  Q. 

Reverend  and  Dear  Sir:  Your  cu.rpsi.ondetit 
desires  to  learn  the  etyniolo^'v  ol'  tlie  Indian  place 
name  now  spelled  Missis<|uoi.  Imt  wliieli  in  earlier 
times  was  spelled  in  various  other  wavs.  sojne  of 
whieh  are  ^riehi8(«oui,  Missisco,  Missiskoiii,  etc. 

At  first,  this  name  was  confined  to  a  river  that  Hows 
across  the  northern  part  of  the  State  of  \^ermont  and 
disemhogues  into  Lake  Champlain  near  the  boundary 
line  between  the  United  States  and  ('anada.  Later 
it  was  given  to  that  portion  of  the  lake  that  extends 
into  Canada  and  is  now  known  as  Missisquoi  Bay;  and 
when  the  land  was  first  surveyed,  about  one  hundred 
years  ago,  it  was  bestowed  upon  the  countv  border- 
''nj?  thereon  in  the  Province  of  Quebec. 

1  he  examination  of  the  works  of  those  who  have  writ- 
ten upon  Indian  philology  and  kindred  topics,  reveals  a 
very  great  discrepancy  in  the  conclusions  arrived  at 
m  reference  to  the  origin  and  signification  of  this  word, 
and  living  students  and  scholars  whom  I  have  con- 
sulted are  no  less  discordant  and  unharmonious. 

I  very  much  desire  to  learn  the  etymology  of  this 
word,  and  to  settle  for  all  time  its  true  origin  and 
signification. 

The  waters  and  territory  to  which  it  is  now  applied 
were  mainly,  since  the  dawn  of  history  at  least,  under 
the  sway  of  the  Abenaquis,  which  would  lend  color 
to  the  supposition  that  it  is  of  Abenaki  origin;  but  as 
the  section  of  the  country  known  by  this  name  was 
upon  the  border  line  separating  them  from  their  fierce 
and  implacable  enemies,  the  Iroquois,  it  would  be 
doing  no  violence  to  probability  to  suppose  that  the 


4t 


Etyiioixjoy   or   Mismiwjuoi. 


word  may  have  Imd  an  Iio<,uoian  origin,  particularly 
aH  the  tonninalH  koui,  koue  and  coni  (CaarToZlZ 
fre<,„ently  mot  with  in  that  hmguagc^ 

r  rejoieo  that  it  is  n.y  k,„„1  fortune  to  bo  in  o„rre- 

aries  who  for  n-ntunej  havo  ovinood  tho  zoal  of  the 
Master  am!  tho  heroism  of  the  nuirtvr«  in  Christian^ 
i/.n,  ..H.I  uphfting  tho  lowly  oroaturos  of  a  oo  nZ^ 
Creator,  whose  devotion  n.ul  triun.,,lKs  are  a  Zm 
to  human.ty  and  oivilization.  «n,l  ^^M.ioh  are  in  su  | 
marked  contrast  with  the  sword  of  porsecM'tion  a, 
extonn.m.t,on  so  industriously  and  so' fatally  wLlSed 

I  rejoice,  moreover,  in  the  knowledge  that  he  to 
whoni  I  a,.,.ea  for  ai.l  "is  now  spending  Jiimself  and 
Heing  spen  "  in  l»eh«IC  of  the  remnant  of  t",a  once 
famous  tnhe  of  Indians  of  which  alone,  an  ong  a^l 
others,  the  herce  and  warlike  Iro.,uois  stoml  in  dfead 
and  upon  whose  lorntory  thev  did  not  i> resume  to 
encroach ;  the  tribe  whose  headnnnrters  were  near  the 

Uiaudiere  Kennebec,  Androscoggin,  Connecticut  and 
Missis,uo.  rners  to  .11  j.oints  of  the  compass  and 
whose  memory  ,s  now  mainly  recalled  to  the  masses 
of  the  people  who  live  in  this  territorv  bv  he"a  nes 
they  gave  to  rivers,  lakes  and  mountains.'and  to  this 
an  otherwise  msignificant  river!  ^"  ""s 

„n!'.''''p"?/''  ^"^^  '^'''  '"^''^"^"'^  '"''•'  «"^«°«  tl^e  descend- 
ants of  these  people,  whose  tongue  and  traditions  you 
have  made  your  own,  in  addition  to  your  many  other 
accomplishments  and  advantages,  I  am  very  confident 
that  you  can  and  will  oblige  me  by  supplving  the 
information  sought,  whether  the  name  be  Abenaquie' 
.roquoian,  or  of  other  origin;  whether  the  various 


15tyi«oi,ooy   or    Mitwia^uor. 


4U 

sHIingH  httv«  «  (.onuru.n  oriKu.  «„.!  Hi^uiHcntion   or 
it  c  .fforont.  what  «n.  th.  WifTor.,.!  m.aniuKs  etc  'X' 

a  n  »t  ,  l.thonc  purso-I  wish  I  ....hl  scmuI  vou  n...r..-^. 
and  r  hog  you  to  mropf  v,  tho  .amo  kiudnpirit  that 
VrompU  a,  not  as  compenHatior..  but  as  a  t  'sV.u     v 
of  n,y  oarnestnesM    ami    appreciatiou  of  vour  a       i 
putod  courte.sy  and  valuahio  uul.  * 

Very  nineerely  yotirn, 

(Jkohoe  McAlkeh. 

To  this  letter  I  receive<l  ,»nMnpt  re,>|y.  of  whiH.  the 
fo  low.ng  ,s  a  translation,  and  whi.-h  because  of  its 
interest  and  value  as  a  picture  of  the  Ih.uu-  life  a.  the 
begmn.ng  of  the  twentieth  c-entury  of  the  ren.nant  of 
a  powerful  and  extensive  Indiar,  tril>e,  now  rapidly 
neanng  the  sunset  of  their  existence,  J  give  in  full: 

Abenak.s  Mission-. 
St.  Thomas  de  Piehhkvuxe,  P.  Q.,  July  1 1,  1995 
Mt,  dear  Sir:    Your  interesting  ietler  and  it.  con- 
tents have  been  received.     I  u.,.t  sav  to  you    hat  the 
noble  sentiments  wlii.  !i  y..    .ave  expresse        o    me 
deserve  to  be  preserved  in  ,..•    archives  of    he    H^i 
I  dmnk  you  very  cordially  for  the  offering  which  ^u 

church  wl    T-     '  ''"^"  "^^  ''  '-  «dvH.fage  for  my 
church  which  has  so  much  need  of  it 

As  to  the  etymology  of  the  word  Missisquoi.  which 
aot'it  Itt  V  your  inquiry  to-day,  it  is'diffic::it  o 
A?K  /  Algon<,uian  The  dictionaries  of  Father 
Aubery  do  not  mention  the  word,  r  must  request  von 
^  wait  a  lit^e  while.  Chief  Laurent.  :1  T Ab^ 
quis,  well  informed  and  .till  a  student,  a  man  who 


50 


Etymology    of    ^Iissisquoi. 


ri 


knows  the  language  very  well,  having  compiled  and 
published  an  Indian  dictionary,  resides  at  this  mis- 
sion, but  is  now  with  oth^  r  uiembers  of  the  tribe  in 
the  United  States,  whither  .iiey  have  gone  to  dispose 
of  the  products  of  their  handiwork.  This  man,  then, 
ought  to  be  able  to  inform  us  of  the  origin  and  signifi- 
cation of  the  word.  When  he  returns  I  will  have 
him  trace  this  word,  and  T  doubt  not  but  that  he  will 
find  "the  thread  that  tie?  up  the  skein." 

I  thank  you  again  for  your  words  of  api)reciation 
of  my  work  among  the  Abenakis.  I  have  been  a  mis- 
sionarj'  here  for  ten  years.  The  Abenakis  here  num- 
ber one  thousand  souls.  They  have  occu])ied  this  mis- 
sion since  it  was  established  in  A.  IX  1680.  They  speak 
French,  English  and  Abenaquis  fluently,  the  last  being 
the  language  in  general  use. 

They  are  all  in  very  moderate  circumstances  finan- 
cially, and  for  the  most  part  secure  their  means  of 
livelihood  l)y  the  sale  of  the  products  of  their  handi- 
work, sucli  as  canoes,  snow-shoes,  moccasins,  baskets, 
etc. 

Many  have  intermarried  with  the  Canadians.  They 
are  intelligent,  have  an  extraordinary  ear  for  lan- 
guages, have  learned  to  play  musical  instruments,  and 
are  generally  good  singers.  They  are  gentle,  hospita- 
ble and  sympathetic.  They  are  not  economical.  They 
are  inconstant  and  have  incessant  need  of  direction, 
of  being  pushed,  rather.  This  mission  is  located  in 
the  most  beautiful  spot  in  the  country,  and  they  live 
happily  in  the  midst  of  their  poverty. 

I  have  written  to  you  in  French,  hoping  that  you 
understand  this  language.  I  have  great  difficulty  in 
expressing  myself  in  English.  When  next  you  write 
let  me  know  if  you  understand  me  or  if  you  prefer  to 
have  me  write  in  English. 


Etymology   of   ]\rissisQuoi.  51 

<,3l"/''"  ""^V^.'  ''"•  *''^  ex,.re8sion  of  niv  sincere 
gratitude,  and  believe  me, 

Most  devotedly  yours, 

Jos.   DE  OONZAGUE, 

Missionary  Priest. 

Failing  to  get  any  information  from  those  cliarged 
with  the  administration  of  the  educational  affairs  of 
the  Province  of  Quebec,  or  from  others  prominent  in 
official  station,  in  relation  to  the  etnnolog>-  of  the  name 
of  one  of  the  counties  of  the  Province,  or  even  the  cour- 
tesy of  a  reply  to  my  imjuiries,  I  opened  the  following 
correspondence  with  the  head  of  the  Provincial  Treas- 
ury Department,  and  for  whose  kindly  interest  and 
aid,  so  timely  and  exceptional,  I  take  this  opportunity 
to  specially  liiank. 

Worcester,  Mass.,  February  10,  1905. 
Hon.  J.  C.  McCoRKiLL, 
Provincial  Treasurer, 
Quebec,  P.  Q. 

Dear  Mr.  McCorkill:  A  native  of  old  Missisquoi 
County  I  am  proud  that  one  of  her  sons  has  at  last 
attained  to  the  proud  distinction  of  head  of  the  Finan- 
cial Department  of  the  Province,  and  this  through  the 
Liberal  party  to  which  my  i>eople  have  ever  been  devot- 
edly loyal!  Ad  multos  Annos!  I  recall  with  pleasure 
a  dinner  at  which  I  met  you  some  years  ago  in  Bed- 
ford but  a  little  thing  like  that  is  not  supposed  to  be 
much  of  an  event  in  such  a  strenuous  life  as  you  are 
living,  and  so  I  suppose  what  is  now  a  verv  pleasant 
memory  with  me  has  long  since  become  a  blank  to  you- 


i.^i 


1/ 


52 


Etymology   of   Missisquoi. 


another  proof,  if  one  were  wanting,  that  "things  are 
only  great  by  comparison. ' ' 

Like  other  members  of  my  family,  I  seek  not  selfish 
ends-nor  ever  have-but  all  the  same,  you  can  do  me 
a  great  favor,  and  I  trust  you  will  not  deem  me  pre- 
8umptm)us  when  I  explain  matters  and  relate  thp  diffi- 
culties encountered. 

For  more  years  than  span  the  life  of  a  generation  I 
have  tried  to  stir  up  a  little  interest  in  matters  his- 
torical m  my  native  county;  but  alas !  what  a  mountain 
ot  indifference  and  inertia  have  I  encountered!  At 
last  a  promising  ray  breaks  upon  the  horizon;  an  evi- 
dence of  life  is  given  to  prove  that  Missisquoi  at  last 
IS  awakening  from  the  slumber  of  one  hundred  years 
and  will  yet  claim  her  place  historically  among  her 
sister  counties  of  the  Province.  I  am  asked,  as  a  con- 
tributor thereto,  to  prepare  a  paper  on  the  name  of 
the  county,— its  origin  and  signification. 

To  help  matters  to  a  successful  issue,  I  am  only  too 
willing  to  spend  time  and  money,  but  here,  again, 
another  alas!  and  alas! .'-after  spending  both  only  to 
find  other  forbidding  and  disheartening  obstacles  lying 
athwart  my  path  in  the  land  of  my  nativity,  and  this 
where  interest  and  co-operation  should  be  manifested 
and  winch  serve  in  a  measure  to  keep  Quebec  where 
sne  IS  m  the  race  of  enlightenment  and  progress. 

To  make  a  long  story  short,  I  have  appealed  to  the 
authorities  at  Ottawa  and  met  with  ready  response, 
but  they  are  more  familiar  with  the  language  and 
dialects  of  the  western  Indians  than  with  those  of  the 
East,  and,  therefore,  their  information  is  not  as  defi- 
nite and  conclusive  as  it  should  be  to  cover  the  inform- 
ation sought. 

The  States  of  Vermont  and  New  York  have  promptly 


Etymology   op   Missisquoi.  53 

put  theii  archives  at  my  disposal.      The  Bureau  of 
Ethnolog>'  and  Philology  at  Washington  gives  prompt 
attention  to  my  inquiries,  busy  college  professors  and 
individuals   who   have   attained   more  than  national 
celebrity,  accord  me  every  courtesy;    but    from  the 
scholars  and  savants  of  Quebec,  where  doubtless  the  real 
information  and  data  are  lodged,  never  a  word !  Try  as 
I  may,  my  every  effort  is  effectuallv  blocked  bv  culpa- 
ble indifference  and  a  deadly  inertia.    You  will  appre- 
ciate my  dilemma  all  the  more  when  I  inform  vou 
probably  what  you  already  know,  that  nearly  every 
Indian  tribe  had  a  dialect  of  its  own,  and  the  Word  to 
express  a  meaning  in  one  section  would  not  be  under- 
stood, or  might  have  a  different  meaning,  in  another. 
At  Ottawa  they  have  very  full  vocabularies  of  the 
Mississaugas,  Cree,  Ojibway  and  other  more  remote 
western  tribes,  of  which,  to  some  extent  at  least,  they 
have  made  a  specialty,  doubtless  owing  to  the  fact 
that  a  large  number  of  Indians  still  reside  in  the  great 
northwest,  and  to  their  dealings  and  intercourse  with 
them.    The  eastern  Indians  being  to  them  a  back  num- 
ber so  to  speak,  and  rapidly  vanishing,  do  not  appeal 
to  them  with  the  force  of  personal  interest  as  the  west- 
ern Indians  do;  consequently,  as  might  be  expected, 
their  records  in  relation  to  the  eastern  tribes  are  not 
so  full  and  complete.    The  Indians  inhabiting  the  val- 
ley of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  tributaries,  especially  on 
the  southern  side,  were  principal  Iv  of  the  St.  Francis 
and  Abenaquis  tribes,  who    had    a    common  dialect, 
which  must  be  of  record  in  the  archives  of  Quebec, 
and  I  now  make  appeal  to  you  to  put  me  in  the  wa^' 
of  securing  a  key  by  means  of  which    to    effect  an 
entrance  thereto;  or,  what  would  please  me  much  bet- 
ter, if  I  am  not  asking  too  much,  is  for  you  to  get  the 


54 


Etymology    op    Miksisquoi. 


information  for  me,  as  I  am  sure  you  I.ave  an  entree 
where  I  would  only  encounter  the  repelling  sign  "Xo 
admission."  »     s  .      ^i" 

What  I  desire  is  to  learn  the  etymologv  of  the  word 
Mi8SKs,,uoi  m  the  Abenakis  dialect  of  the  Algonquian 
language  This  I  would  like  to  get  authoritatively, 
and  surely  some  one  in  Quebec  must  be  able  to  furnish 
It.  ii  you  cannot  find  time  to  secure  it  for  me  will 
you  kindly  put  me  in  the  way  of  getting  it  for  the  bene- 
HH?  ^^l\}'^y^^  ^f,y»"r  old  constituency  who  know  so 
little  of  their  own  history,  and  thus  greatly  oblige. 

Yours  very  respectfully, 

George  McAleer. 

Quebec,  P.  Q.,  February  13th,  1905. 
George  McAleer,  Esq.,  M.D., 
Worcester,  Mass. 

My  dear  Dr.  McAleer:  I  received  your  letter  of  the 
10th  inst.  yesterday.  You  are  very  complimentary 
indeed,  but  at  the  same  time  I  am  hmnan  enough  to 
appreciate  a  kind  word  from  an  old  Missisquoi  boy 
alter  the  ups  and  downs  of  political  life  which  I  have 
experienced  since  1866. 

I  quite  agree  with  you  that  our  good  people  of  Mis- 
sisquoi do  not  appreciate  the  value  of  a  historv  of  the 
county.  W^e  have  a  historical  societv,  but  thus  far  it 
has  not  done  much  practical  work.  I  understand  that 
the  present  officers  of  the  societv  are  trving  to  get  the 
people  of  the  county  to  take  a  more  livelv  interest  in 
Its  history,  but  whether  thej  will  succeed' or  not  I  do 
not  know.  ' 

I  forwarded  the  last  page  of  your  letter  to  Mr 
Dioune,  Librarian  of  Parliament,  with  a  request  to 
give  me  the  information  asked  for  with  reference  to 


i.,V<.i.i. 


Etvmoi,ooy    of    ^riSSISQUOI. 


•)0 


the  word  Missis(|Uoi.  He  infonncd  niv  secretary  tliat 
he  had  received  a  letter  rrqin  you.  and  was  looking  up 
the  matter,  and  would  write  you  shortly  on  the  sub- 
ject. Have  you  written  to  Dr.  A.  (}.  Doiightv.  Domin- 
ion Archivist.  Ottawa?  [f  not,  please  do  so.  He  is 
the  author  of  valuable  Canadian  historical  works,  and 
perhaps  he  will  l)e  able  to  assist  in  procuring  the  in- 
formation whicli  you  ask  for.  I  myself  will  drop  him 
a  line  and  ask  him  to  interest  himself  in  the  etvmology 
of  the  name  of  my  native  county. 

If  I  can  assist  you  in  any  other  wav  in  vour  re- 
searches and  literary  work,  please  do  not  hesitate  to 

write  me.    Believe  me,      v^.,.^.  e  -^i  e  n 

'      lours  taithtully, 

J.    C.    McCoBKILL. 

Acting  upon  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  McC^orkill,  I  ad- 
dressed the  following  letter  to  Dr.  A.  G.  Doughty, 
Dominion  Archivist,  Ottawo,  Ontario : 

Worcester,  Mass.,  U.8.A.,  Feb.  17,  190.J. 
Dr.  a.  G.  Doughty, 

Dominion  Archivist, 
Ottawa,  Ontario. 
Mij  (I,  or  Sir:  I  am  very  desirous  o  learn  the  ety- 
mology of  the  Indian  place  name  Misriis(|uoi,  a  bay  at 
the  northern  end  of  Lake  Champlain  and  of  a  county 
bordering  thereon  in  the  Province  of  (Quebec.  A 
native  of  this  county,  1  am  asked  to  prepare  a  paper 
setting  forth  the  origin  and  signification  of  this  word, 
and  when  and  by  whom  it  was  bestowed  uuon  the 
county. 

This  work  I  am  glad  to  undertake,  and  T  should  like 
to  be  accuiate  in  my  statements  and  conclusions. 
I  api)lied  for  assistance  to  another  native  of  Mis- 


M 


Etymology   op    Missisquoi 


siaquoi,  IIou.  J.  C.  McCorkill,  now  treasurer  of  the 
Provmoe  of  Quebec,  and  lie  suggested  your  name  as 
one  who  would  be  likely  to  render  valuable  aid.  T  shall 
esteem  it  a  very  great  favor  if  you  will  kindly  furnish 
me  with  an  explanation  of  the  origin  and  signification 
of  this  word,  and  thanking  you  in  anticipation  therefor, 
I  beg  you  to  believe  me. 

Yours  most  respectfully, 

George  McAleer. 

To  this  I  received  the  following  reply: 

Office  of  the  Archivist. 

Ottawa,  Ont.,  February  27,  1905. 
George  McAleer,  M.D., 

Worcester,  Mass. 
Dear  Sir:   I  have  made  many  inquiries  concerning 
the  et\Tnolog>'  of  the  word  "Missisquoi,"  but  I  have 
been  unable  to  get  anything  very  definite,  either  from 
books  or  from  correspondents. 

The  word  is  no  doubt  of  Algonquian  origin,  and  it  is 
evidently  derived  from  Misqid  or  Misqua,  the  former 
meaning  blood  and  the  latter  red. 

Whether  the  term  was  applied  to  the  water,  meaning 
"the  bloody  river,"  or  on  account  of  a  battle,  or  not, 
I  am  unable  to  say;  or  whether  there  may  have  been 
any  peculiarity  in  the  color  of  the  water  to  suggest  the 
term,  is  simply  speculation.  However,  I  think  there 
is  no  question  about  the  origin  of  the  word. 

I  will  keep  the  matter  before  me,  and  if  I  find  out 
anything  further  I  will  let  you  know. 

Yours  faithfully, 
.'trf/'t.»      AfcPiiBo  G.  Doughty. 
P.  S.— The  reduplication  of  "is"  is  common,  such 
as  Miss  is  ippi,  sipi  being  water,  river. 


ETYMOI.OOY     or     MiSSISQUOI. 


57 


I  then  replied  to  the  letter  of  the  Hon.  J.  C.  Mo- 
CorkiJl  as  follows: 

Worcester,  Mass.,  Feb.  27,  1905. 
Hon.  J.  C.  :Mc('orkill, 
Provincial  Treasurer. 
My  dear  Mr.  MrCorkill:    Your  favor  of  February 
33th  came  duly  at  hand,  and  should  have  had  earlier 
answer,  but  I  have  been  waiting  to  hear  from  Mr. 
Dionne,  Librarian  of  Parliament.     T  had  written  to 
liim  some  time  before  writing  to  you,  and  his  reply 
has  just  oome  to  hand.    He  is  unable  to  help  me  very 
definitely  in  the  matter  of  the  etymology  of  the  Indian 
word  Missisquoi,  and  strange  enough  he  does  not  sug- 
gest where  this  information  may  be  obtained.     Cer- 
tainly there  must  be  in  the  archives  of  Quebec,  or  in 
the    records    of    some    archa^ologicf ',    ethnological, 
philological,  antuiuarian  or  historical  society  of  the 
Province,  definite  data  bearing  ui)on  this  subject,  and 
it  would   seem  that  a  man  in  Mr.  Dionne 's  position   if 
he  could  not  furnish  the  information  sought,  would 
refer  me  to  the  source  whence  it  could  be  obtained. 
But  so  it  is,  and  has  been ! 

When  the  name  was  adopted  for  the  bay  and  county 
there  must  have  been  consideration  given  to  the  mat- 
ter, the  whys  and  wherefores  discussed,  and  reasons 
assigned,  and  of  this  doubtless  record  was  made. 
Again,  the  Indian  tongue  is  yet  a  living  language  at 
Lorette  and  other  missionary  stations  where  it  would 
seem  information  might  be  obtained  as  to  the  origin 
and  signification  of  this  word,  but,  personally,  I  do  not 
know  any  one  there  to  whom  to  apply. 

I  hope  you  will  not  deem  me  importunate  if  I  again 
appeal  to  you  for  aid. 


k^ 


58 


Etymoixkiy    of    MiSHISqUOl 


The  Mis8i8(iU()i  Historical  Society  shows  evidence  of 
life,  ami  1  feel  it  my  duty,  as  a  son  of  old  Missisjiuoi, 
to  render  every  possible  aid  in  a  work  already  too 
lonj?  delayed.  Whatever  I  do  I  desire  to  have  au- 
thentic, and  hence  this  must  be  my  excuse  for  again 
troubling  you.  I  have  written*  Mr.  Doughty  at 
Ottawa,  but  have  not  heard  from  him  yet. 

Bespeaking  your  kindly  interest  and  aid,  and  thank- 
ing you  in  advance  therefor,  I  am, 

Verj'  sincerely  yours, 

George  McAleer. 

Quebec,  P.  Q.,  March  2d,  1905. 
George  McAleer,  Esq.,  M.D., 
Worcester,  Mass. 
My  dear  Sir:  I  am  i    receipt  of  your  letter  of  the 
27th  ulto.    I  will  see  what  I  can  do  to  procure  you  the 
information  which  you  seek  about  the  word  Missisquoi. 
The  House  is  opening  to-day,  and  it  may  be  a  few  days 
before  I  can  give  tlie  matter  personal  attention. 

Yours  truly, 

J.  C.  McCoRKILL. 


W^oRCESTER,  Mass.,  July  3,  1905. 
Hon.  J.  C.  McCoRKiLL, 
W^EST  Farnhaa",  p.  Q. 
Dear  Sir:    In  re  Missisquoi.     In   your    last   letter, 
which  I  received  several  months  ag'>    you  informed 
me  that  I  might  expect  to  hear  soou      ereafter  from 
you  in  reference  to  the  etymologj-  of  i.    -;  Indian  place 
.iame,  but  I  suppose  your  duties  are  so  numerous  and 
exacting  that  the  matter  has  passed  out  of  your  mind. 
Supposing  that  now  you  have  a  little  respite  from  the 


Etymomxjy    op    MissisqroT. 


S9 


duties  of  your  office  of  Treasuror  of  the  ProviiK-o,  I 
beg  to  nj?ain  Itriiiju:  the  matter  to  your  attention.    This 
name  at  first  was  variously  spelled— some  forty  differ- 
ent ways  being  in  evidence  in  various  publications— 
but  8oon  after  it  was  given  to  the  county  lK)nlering 
upon  tlie  bay  of  the  same  name,  the  spelling  thereof 
became  fixed  in  the  i)resent  form;  and  it  is  a  fair  pre- 
sumption that  reasons  for  so  doing  were  debated,  con- 
sidered and  weighed,  so  tliat  the  orthography  adopted 
might  be  as  nearly  correct  as  possible,  and  that  they 
doubtless  appeared  in  the  official  publications  and  doc- 
uments of  the  (ime,  and  if  so,  they  must  l)e  available 
in  the  archives  of  Quebec.    As  these  surveys  were  made 
under  tlie  direction  of  the  Crown  Lands'  Department, 
it  is  very  probable  that  some  record  of  this  will  be 
found  in  that  department.     Then  there  are  the  eth- 
nological,   antiquarian,    arch.Tological,    historical  and 
other  societies  whose  records  should  furnish  the  in- 
formation sought.    Moreover,  as  the  Abenaquis  is  still 
a  living  language,  and  as  linguists  contend  that  the 
word  is  of  Abena(|uis  origin,  it  would  seem  that  its 
derivation  and  meaning  might  be  furnished  by  many 
who  use  this  tongue  could  access  to  or  comnmnication 
be  had  with  them. 

As  all  these  sources  of  information  are  too  remote 
to  be  available  by  me,  and  as  I  am  very 
anxious  to  get  at  the  bottom  facts  in  the  case,  I  again 
venture  to  trespass  upon  your  valuable  time  in  the 
hope  that  I  may  secure  your  co-o[)eration  and  aid  to 
set  at  rest  for  all  time  the  origin  and  signification  of 
the  name  of  our  county,  to  which  we  owe  loving  alle- 
giance and  of  which  in  many  things  we  ai-e  so  justly 
proud. 

Craving  your  indulgence  for  this  additional  trespass 


I,-' 


60 


ErvMoriOov   or   Mi88is<juot. 


upon  your  valuable  time  and  forbearance,  and  thank- 
ing you  in  advance  for  the  courtesy  of  your  considera- 
tion and  assistance,  I  beg  you  to  believe  me, 
V^ery  sincerely  yours, 

Qeorgk  McAleer. 

Quebec,  July  11th,  1905. 
Oeorob  McAleer,  M.D., 

Worcester,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 

Dear  Sir:  The  Hon.  Mr.  McCorkill  received  commu- 
nication of  your  favor  of  the  3d  inat.  last  Thursday, 
but  was  too  busy  to  give  it  his  personal  attention,  so 
handed  it  to  me  to  reply  to. 

Since  then  I  have  been  endeavoring  to  get  at  the 
true  etymnlogy  of  the  word  "Missisquoi,"  and  am 
furthering  my  inquiries  by  writing  to-day  to  some 
Indian  missionaries  to  obtain  their  opinions  on  the 
subject.  When  I  have  completed  my  research  I  will 
write  you  again  giving  you  all  the  information  I  have 
been  able  to  obtain. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

G.  Alfred  Morris, 
Private  Secretary. 

Worcester,  Mass.,  July  13,  1905. 

G,  Alfred  Morris,  Esq.,  Private  Secretary, 
Quebec,  P.  Q. 

Dear  Sir:  I  have  your  favor  of  July  11th,  and  note 
contents.  I  fear  that  in  view  of  the  many  changes  in 
the  Indian  languages  and  dialects,  as  well  as  in  the 
orthography  of  the  words  and  place  names,  the 
missionaries  of  to-day  will  not  be  able  to  throw  much 


Etymology   or   Mihbiwjuoi. 


61 


light  upon  the  etymology  of  the  word  Missisquoi  as 
now  spelled.  Bjic-k  in  1736,  this  word  was  spelled 
Mirhi-koui,  and  koui  was  the  radical  or  root  word  of 
many  Iroquoian  nRmea— Hho-koui,  Catam-coui,  ete.— 
and  it  seems  as  if  this  same  koni  was  the  original  ter- 
minal or  root  word  of  Missis<|noi,  as  it  so  appears  on 
old  maps  and  in  early  publications,  and  it  would  v«Ty 
naturally  have  a  diiferent  meaning  from  the  sisnuoi 
of  the  ])resent  form. 

Various  spellings  were  in  vogue  down  to  the  time 
when  Missi8(|uoi  County  was  surveyed,  about  A.  1). 
180{),  and  for  some  time  afterward  until  it  was  officially 
established  in  the  present  form.  Doubtless  at  that  time 
reasons  pro  and  con  were  given  for  this,  and  it  seems 
as  if  the  records  thereof  should  be  in  the  Crown  Lands 
Department,  in  some  of  the  publications  of  the  time, 
or  in  the  records  of  the  Quebec  Historical  or  other 
society. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Geobge  McAleeb. 


Treasuher's  Office,    Trkasirv  Department. 
Province  of  Qt-ebec. 

Quebec.  July  22d,  1905. 
George  McAleer,  Esq.,  M.D., 

Worcester,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 
Dear  Sir:  I  regret  to  s-y  that  up  to  the  i)resent 
tinio  all  our  researches  ha\  c  failed  to  result  in  definite 
or  official  information  as  to  the  etvmology  of  the  word 
"Alissisquoi."  Enclosed  I  bog  to  hand  you  the  record 
of  our  corresi)ondence  re  this  matter.  From  it  you 
will  gather  that  the  consensus  of  opinion  gives  the 
meaning  of  the  word  as  being  "big  woman."      One 


62 


Etvmof^hjy    or    Mi.HHi.s<iirot. 


K.'ntU'Hian  (.f  our  IMihlic  Works  Drpnrtmont  l.ero  up- 
hold tliiK  opinion,  and  ariotluT  gontlomnn  of  tlio  De- 
partment of  Lands.  MineH    and    Fisl.orics.  who  has 
nuido  considerahlc  rosnuvlu's  anionK  tlio  Indian  narneM 
ot  tlio  Provin<v,  also  maintained  tliat  the  word  meant 
"Ihk  woman."  and  was  of  Cree  origin,  stating  as  his 
antlioritii's  Path*  r  Laeombc  and  M^r,  T^atleohe   both 
Indian  missionaries.     The  only  reasonable  objection 
that  I  ean  see  against  aeeeptin^  this  meaninK  as  being 
tiie  correct  one  is  the  well-known  fact  that  the  Indians 
invariably  named  rivers,  lakes,  mountains,  etc.,  in  a 
manner  descriptive  of  the  objects  themselves,  and  it 
18  liardly  possible  tiiat  Mi8si8(iuoi   Bav  would  liave 
reminded  them  of  a  big  woman. 

As  to  the  spelling  of  the  word,  ditTerent  writers  have 

apparently   pleased   themselves,  but  as   far  back  as 

1771-77  it  was  spelled  in  its  present  form  bv  John  Col- 

ins  in  his  official  map  of  the  boundary  line  between 

the  Province  of  Quebec  and  the  State  of  New  York. 

I  might  just  mention  that  the  gentleman  in  the  De- 
partment of  Lands,  Mines  and  Fisheries,  of  wlu.m  I 
made  meiitiov  just  now,  told  uie  that  the  only  names 
ot  Abenakis  origin  are  to  be  fouml  in  the  St.  Francis 
district,  such  as  Magog,  Memphremagog,  (^aticook, 
etc.  ' 

As  far  is  I  can  find,  there  are  no  records  iu  the  De- 
partment of  Crown  Lands  setting  forth  the  reasons 
tor  naming  the  county  as  at  present  styled. 

Regretting  our  inability  to  secure  for  vou  any  defi- 
nite information  on  this  subject,  and  trusting  you  will 
fmd  the  record  of  use,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir, 
Your  obedient  servant, 

G.  Alfred  Mohris, 

Private  Secretary. 


KtVMOI.IKJV      ok      MlKSIsqCOI. 


63 


The  followiuK  U'Wvvh    ti     osmhI  to  Mr.  (J.  Alfn-d 
MorriH  wore  trnnsmittc*!  lo  ino  by  him  with  tho  ion' 
goiiiju'  N'ttor: 

Ti'i.  MiHsifignti  Couniv  IIihtokkai.  SotiKiv. 

C'owANHviLi.K.  Q\K.,  l.tth  Mnifh.  VM)'i. 
(h  AfiiiM)  Moiiuis.  Ksq.,  Secretary. 

Ihnr  Sir:  1  hjivc  been  iiuiitiii^  miioii^  my  trejisiires 
I'm-  111-  historical  H-nip-hook  to  ^ive  yon  the  informa- 
tion ri'-jiiireil,  Itii!  it  has  ^one  astray  for  tiie  moment. 
J  hav(  \vi;tfeii  Williinn  Mead  I'attison,  Es.|.,  of  (Mar- 
eneovil.'  -Iio  wrot*-  somethifiK  ah(mt  it  in  the  Star 
n  few  ye.  i>  nirn.  to  forwanl  the  meaning  to  .Mr.  .Me 
Torkili. 

I  remember  that  one  meaning  I  had  ;  f  ^■issis(lUoi 

"much 
Indian 
ion  to 
luse  I 
•  e.  I 
the 
■iJm'I    I 


•UiX 


»*    V,\i,. 


VJ> 


was   that    it   was   an    Indian   word    m< 

water-fowl."    I  have  also  heard  tl 

word  meanitiu  "damn    the    Dutc^  ,' 

allej<ed  earlv  settlers.    This  can     ■'••.; 

think    it    liad    that    tiame   l)efon    ',. 

incline  to  the  opinion  that  "miui.   ,. ,)i 

true  meaning,  but    if    Mr.    Pattisou  ;. 

should  be  disposed  to  accept  it,  for  he  \r,i:~  iivi-u  much 

time  to  local  icsearch. 

It  has  been  spelled  various  ways,  even  in  enrly  acts 
of  Parliament.  The  present  form  of  spelling  is  ([uite 
modern.  It  has  been  8j)elled  Missi.skouie,  Missiskoui, 
Missisque,  Missisko,  and  lastly  Missiscpioi.  The  first 
form,  "Missiskouie,"  was  employed  by  the  late  Leon 
Lalanne,  the  first  notary  jniblic  in  this  district,  and 
who  practiced  here  from  1790  to  1845. 

Yours  truly, 

.Inc.  p.  Nove-s. 


64 


Etymology   op   Missisquoi. 


Clabenceville,  p.  Q.,  March  15,  1905. 

My  dear  Mr.  McCorkiU:  J.  P.  Noyes,  P.S.C,  our  en- 
ergetic President  of  the  Missisquoi  Historical  Society, 
writes  me  to  give  you  what  I  know  of  the  origin  of  the 
name  Missisquoi.  Some  years  since  I  replied  to  an 
inquiry  in  the  Montreal  Daily  Star,  and  my  conclu- 
sions were  that  Missisquoi  and  Mississippi  took  their 
names  from  the  Mississauga  tribe  of  friendly  Indians. 
I  find  in  the  report  of  Archives  of  Canada  for  the  year 
1899,  page  45,  that  in  the  transactions  for  1704,  a 
council  was  held  at  Fort  Pontchartrain,  in  which  the 
Hurons,  Miamis  and  four  other  tribes  are  named  with 
the  Mississaugas. 

If  I  remember  right,  Fort  Pontchartrain  was  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  The  tribe  in  question 
may  have  been  nomadic.  I  find  frequent  reference  to 
them  along  the  borders  of  Vermont,  as  well  as  in  this 
Province.  In  the  former,  we  have  Missisquoi  River  in 
Franklin  County,  '  -'mont. 

This  has  always  been  the  only  conclusion  I  could 
come  to,  and  it  seems  reasonable.  As  you  know,  the 
origin  of  our  cities,  towns  and  counties  is  first  from 
the  French,  as  the  Hundred  Associates  awarded  seign- 
ioral  grants  to  numbers  of  DeCalliere's  regiment,  In- 
dians and  English. 

I  am  very  glad  to  have  the  question  raised,  for  it 
IS  time  it  was  settled.  T  will  write  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Vermont  Historical  Society,  who  has  hitherto  sent 
me  any  mformation  or  papers  asked  for.  I  will  keep 
to  work  on  the  (piestion  till  something  more  definite  is 
arrived  at,  and  will  be  pleased  to  advise  vou  of  the 
progress  made.  The  Vermont  Historical  Society  has 
over  one  thousand  bound  books  in  their  library  at 
Montpelier,  and  I  wish  our  Missisciuoi  Society  could 


Etymology   of   Missisquoi.  gg 

make  a  start  in  this  direction.    Wonid  n,>t  tlw  (Juebec 
SovornmontKivo  us  a  starter? 

Jf  wo  had  -Parkman's  History  of  (<anada."  I  think 
.kely  the  derivation  of  Missis.,uoi  conld  be  established 
Parkman's  History  of  Canada  "should  be  in  the  Par' 
uunentary  I.ibrary  at  (,)nebe,..  and  shouM    v,.u    Had 
tune  to  sean-h  for  tlie  oiif^in  of  our  c-uuntv  uanu>  an.l 
meet  with  sueeess,  I  trust  you  will  ^W,  ..,;,  Histor 
Society  tiie  benefit  of  vour  research 

I  wish  a  joint  meeting  of  the  Hronie  and  Missisquoi 
societies  could  be  held  sometime  during  the  summe 
at  C  owansy.lle  or  Sweetsburg.  1  wouki  be  glad  to 
lend  a  lu^lping  hand.  Am  suggesting  to  our  Pivsidem 
and  Secretary  a  meeting  at  Isle-,nu-uoi.r,  and  if  it 
'^'^:  '  ^^'"  ''^^  >•-'  '--  ^'"'  'l^'tc'  and  how  t.; 
AVith  assuratice  of  my  high  regards,  I  am, 

Yours  very  truly, 

Hnv      I     O     \f    I'  ^^^^-    ■^'''^'^"    f'^TTiSOX. 

HON.    J.    (  .    AIctORKILL. 


Clarexcevili.k.  p.  Q.,  March  Ki,  1!>():, 
JV^r'  '^{'-  '^''^^''^'■^•'/'•-   ^^i"*'^  Hiy  letter  of  vester- 
?h'    Jr''        I'  '■''•'''"'^'  '^'■•'  •'•  ^'-   f^«'»rinot's  work 
riie  Story  oranada.",.ublished  by  the  (•.>,,.(  Marl.: 

Indians  and  the    lro(n,o,s,"    page    12.'^,    probablv  the 
Allegem  who  gave  their  names  to  the  Alleganies'  e 
s^ms   o  s  rengthen  niy  view  that  theALssis'igi^^nKl; 

•   I  V      ■  '    'T'"'""  "'  ""•■  ""••"*>■•  '>"<!  tl'^^  river  and 
wlex   ot   that  name  i„  northern   Wrmnnt.     Tlu-  idea 

bat  M.ss.ssipp,  eame  from  the  same  source  is  pre 
torous,  as  that  name  translated  into  Knglisl,  is    n  .  |    v 
nveror  latlH.  of  water.:  Missouri,  gre^dmuddv'Rer 


66 


EtYMOI-()GY     op     MlSSISQUOI. 


As  Missisquoi  is  evidently  of  Indian  origin,  the  ques- 
tion conies  up  as  to  its  meaning.  Tlie  name  must 
liave  been  adopted  in  1797.  as  it  tlien  appears  in  the 
"Act  for  Dividing  the  Province  of  Lower  Canada  into 
Counties."  (Given  in  historical  notes  in  the  News  of 
Feb.  24.) 

What  we  want  to  get  at  is  the  derivation  of  ]\Iissis- 
quoi — which  is  clearly  a  name  of  Indian  origin.  The 
people  of  northern  Vermont  should  be  as  in(iuisitive 
on  this  point  as  we  are,  and  I  will  write  to-day 
to  the  secretary  of  the  Vermont  Historical  Society, 
also  a  professor  in  the  University  of  Vermont,  Bur- 
lington, Vt.  Am  bound  to  stick  to  it,  and  with  yonr 
and  Mr.  Noyes'  co-operation,  I  think  I  will  strike  bed 
pan  in  time.  If  you  could  find  in  some  public  library, 
T.  H.  Morgan's  book,  "The  League  of  the  Tro(iuois 
and  Braves,  .and  Home  Life  of  the  Aborigines,"  jms- 
sibly  snme  informati(»n  could  bo  got  out  of  it. 

I  have  a  book,  viz.,  "History  of  the  Indians,"  but 
as  I  cannot  find  it  in  my  library,  conclude  it  is  lent! 
Will  be  spending  some  time  in  Montreal  early  in  the 
summer,  and  will  hunt  up  some  work  on  the  aborigines 
in  Kedpath,  lot  22-  or  at  Frazier  [nstitute.  If  \  make 
any  ])rogr('ss  in  the  matter  will  tet  y<»u  know. 

Yours  very  truly. 

William   Mead  Pattison. 
Hon.  ,].  C.  McCoRKiLL. 

«>T-F.»B<\  P.  (,>.,  March  1H,  1005. 

WiLLiAM     Mf.AI)    PaIIISOX,    KsQ., 
ClaHEN.  KVILLK,  P.  Q. 

Dear  Sir: — I  beg  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  yt)ur 
favors  of  the  loth  and  Kith  insts.  relating  to  the  origin 


pp 


Etymolooy   op   Missisquoi.  67 

of  the  name  Afissisquoi.  Please  accept  my  sincere 
thanks  for  the  trouble  you  have  given  yourself,  and 
the  niformation  contained  in  your  letters.  Any 
turtJier  information  you  can  give  me  will  be  highlv 
apprecmted.  v  .     , 

Yours  very  truly, 

J.    C    McCoRKILL. 


rp       T  Quebec,  March  20,  1905. 

IHE  Librarian  of 

THE  Mc(JiLL  University  Library, 
Montreal,  P.  Q. 
Dear  Si,:~l  am  desirous  of  obtaining  for  my  Min- 
ister  tlu>  Hon.  Mr.  McCorkill,  Provincial  Treasurer, 
the  etymology  of  the  word  "Missisquoi,"  the  name  of 
one  of  the  counties  comprising  the  Eastern  Townships 
Any  information  you  can  give  me  will  be  greativ  ap- 
preciated. *         -     * 

Thanking  you  in  anticipation,  on  behalf  of  the  Min- 
ister, 1  am.  ^^ 

>  ours  sincerely. 

(t.  Alfred  Morris, 
Private  Sec  ret  an/. 

OFFirK   OF   THE   ArcIIIVIST, 

Ottawa,  Ont.,  March  21.  IDO.l 
Mi,  ftrar  Mitustrr:   About  the  same  time  that  I  re- 
ceived your  im|uiry   ,.   "Missis<,uoi."  I  received  a 
letter  from  Dr.  AIcAleer  of  Worcester,  Mass..  on  this 
same  subject. 

I  ma^'    my  iiKpiiries  at  the  time,  and  wrote  to  several 

pri(  sts  wh.mi  I  thought  wouhl  know  something  about 

he  ,  ng.n  of  the  word,  but  without  success.     I  then 

looked  up  all  the  Indian  dictionaries,  and  from  this 


68 


Etymology    of    Missistjuor. 


tlie  word  ai>i»ears  to  he  Algonquin,  aTid  I  gave  Dr.  IMc- 
AU'cr  the  result  of  my  investigation. 

Tn  Algon«|uin  Mi.sliirnir  means  red,  and  Miskiti, 
blood.  I  find  that  syllables  such  as  "is"  are  often 
duplic.-ited  in  words,  and  hy  this  ])rocess  Mis  (is)  kwi 
giveh  the  word.  I  know  nothing  about  tlie  applica- 
tion of  the  word  to  the  district  or  to  the  river,  possi- 
bly it  may  have  been  given  to  conuuemorate  some 
bloody  engagement. 

The  Abenakis  were  a  branch  of  the  Algon<juins,  and 
inhabited  St.  Francis  District  in  ((uite  early  times. 

r  have  looked  up  everything  we  have  here,  but  there 
is  no  further  light  to  ])e  thrown  on  the  (piestion.  The 
spelling  varies:  Missincuoi,  Missiskvvi,  Misisskwa, 
etc.,  in  the  early  records. 

Pardon  ine  for  not  writing  before. 

Vours  faithfully, 

A.  O.  Doughty. 


Ontario  Lecusf.ative  Lihhary. 

Toronto,  Ont.,  ^rarch  22,  19^)5. 

C.  ALrRKD  Morris,  Esq., 
QUEBKC,   P.  Q. 

Dear  Sir:  Tn  reply  to  your  letter,  I  am  not  a  deep 
Indian  language  scholar,  Imt  I  tliink  the  etymology  of 
"Missis(|uoi"  is  clear.  In  all  the  Algomiuin  lan- 
guages, "missi"  means  great,  much,  big,  many.  The 
last  syllable  I  take  to  be  a  French  or  English  attempt 
to  render  "ikwew"  a  woman,  usually  u  "s(iuaw." 
The  whole  word  would  mean  "the  great  woman." 

I  write  this  subject  to  correction  at  the  hands  of  any- 

''*'^^>'-  Vours  faithfully. 

AVERN     PaRDOE. 


ETYMOr,OQY     OP     MiSSISQt'OI. 


G9 


>rcOiLL  Univkksity  Libkauv. 

MoNTKKAL.  F.  Q..  March  L>Htli.  190.-). 
Dear  Sir:  1  duly  rocoived  a  note  from  vour  private 
secretary,  dated  March  20th.  aski„s  if  I  could  obtain 
tor  you  the  etymology  of  the  worrl  Missisquoi.     It  has 
taken  some  time  to  get  any  information  about  it   the 
dictionaries  of  Indian  languafr<>s  which  we  iiave  beinif 
apparently  insufficient  f.)r  the  purpose.     I  have   how- 
ever, corresponded  with  the  Hev.  Krnest  ^r    Tavlor 
Secretary   of  the   Brome   County    Historical    So.-iotv' 
and  also  with  T)r.  David  Hoylo  of  the  Provincial  Mu- 
seum, Toronto.     From  them  I  ol)tained  iho  following 
information:      Dr.   Boylo  and   Mr.   Aubrev  AVhito,  a 
tnend  of  his,  think  that  the  word  is  of  Tree  origin 
although    they    cannot  understand    how  (re   dialect 
should  have  been  used  as  far  east  as  Missis.,uoi      If 
the  word  ,8  of  cree  origin,  its  etymology  would  be  as 
follows:  J/m-/*/— big.  and  Ishknr-v.',nnnn;  sn  that  the 
word  would  mean  hir,  ,ro,„an.     This,  however,  seems 
neither  an  apj.ropriate  nor  a  probable  derivation,  and 
the  following   ^eems   to  me  great  I  v   to   !)e   preferred 
namely,  treating  the  word  as  of  Abenakis  ori-in  which 
would  give  it  the  meaning  of  much  water-fowl      This 
latter  derivation  is  what  Mr.  Tavlor  gives.     He  gays 
the  name  has  been  given  to  boti    the  north  and  south 
branches  ol"  the  river.     The  first  starts  from  a  small 
lake  or  pond  at  Eastm-Mn  village,  and  the  s,mth  branch 
comes  in  from  Vermont.     These  .join  at   Mansonville 
Station.  ,n  Potton,  P.  (,»..  ami  the  bav  on  Lak.-  Cham- 
plain,  into  which  the  river  empties,  also  bears  the  name 
ot    Missis(|uoi.     The    representatives    of  the  earliest 
families  state  that  the  wild  du.-ks  and  wild  geese  were 
very  abundant.     Th.>  word  has  been  spelled  Missisco 
and   Missiskoui.     Do  you   not   think   that   this   latter 


70 


Etymology   of   Missisquoi. 


derivation  is  at  least  a  probable  one?  I  have  been 
able  to  obtain  nothing  further  in  connection  with  the 
word. 

I  remain,  dear  sir, 

Faithfully  yours, 

('.  n.  GOITM), 

University  Librarian. 
The  Honorable 

THE  Provincial  Treasurer, 
QUEBEO,  P.  Q. 


Smithsonian  Institution. 
Bureau  of  American  Ethnology. 

Washington,  D.  C,  April  15,  1905. 

Dear  Sir:  Your  letter  of  April  13,  making  iniiuiries 
regarding  the  Indian  term  Missisquoi,  is  at  hand. 
Without  knowing  the  hist  )ry  of  the  term,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  give  a  full  and  satisfactory  definition ;  but  it  is 
an  Algon(|uin  word,  and,  as  it  stands,  would  seem  to 
be  made  up  of  the  two  elements,  missi,  "great,  large, 
much."  and  nssisku,  "mud,  soft  clay."  The  first  part 
of  the  word  corres|)onds  to  the  first  syllables  in  our 
two  words,  Mississippi  and  Missouri.  The  second 
part  eorresi)onds  more  closely  to  the  second  part  of 
the  word  Missouri,  which  signifies  turbid;  the  second 
part  of  the  word  Missiscjuoi  signifying,  however, 
simply  soft  clay  or  mud. 

Very  truly  yours, 

W.  H.  Holmes, 
Chief. 
^Ir.  G.  Alkreo  Morris, 
Treasurer's  Okfue. 
(Quebec,  Canada. 


ETYMorxKiv    OK    Missisciijot. 


71 


Ql'Kiikc,  p.  Q..  April  IHtli.  11)05. 

Ihar  Sir:  \  hcj;  to  ackiiowlcdj^t'  n>('(>ip<  ol'  yonr  os- 
tocrncd  favor  of  tlio  intli  irist.  ffivinR  mo  your  dcfini- 
tion  of  the  Indian  word  "Missis«|uoi,"  and  to  lioartily 
tliank  yon  on  Iwltalf  of  the  ll(»ii.  Mr.  McCorkill  for 
yojir  conrtcons  and  prompt  attention  to  my  rctiucst 
for  information  on  this  .sul).j('('t. 

I  have  tli<»  honor  to  Ik?,  sir, 

V'our  oh(>di(>nt  servant, 
(i.  Amkko  Xloitius. 

I'rivate  Secretary. 
W.  H.  Holmes,  Ksq., 

Smithsonian   Institution, 

BrKEAi:  Of  Amehican  I'/riTNoi.o(jv, 
Washinoton,  I).  ('.,  [i.S.A. 

Quebec,  July  11th,  liJO.j. 
Rev.  L.  S.  Gkangeh,  S.  J., 
Caughnawaoa,  p.  Q. 

Itrr.  and  dcfir  Sir:  T  have  received  your  name  indi- 
rectly through  Mr.  Tanered  Hinfret  of  Quebec,  as 
being  one  wlio  would  likely  l)e  able  to  give  me  some 
information  on  the  subject  of  the  etymology  of  the 
word  ".Missis(|Uoi,"  the  name  of  one  of  the  counties 
comi)rising  tlie  Eastern  T<»w)iships.  Any  informa- 
ti(m  you  can  give  me  will  l>e  gn^tly  appreciated. 

Thanking  you  in  anticipation  of  a  reply,  on  behalf 
of  my  Minister,  the  Hon.  Mr.  M^-rorkill.  Provincial 
Treasurer,  I  have  the  hoi»>r  t(»  1k\  rex.-rend  and  d«'ar 
sir, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

G.  Ai.i  KEi)  Morris. 
I'rivate  S^^retarv. 


72 


KtYMOLOOV     of     MlH8ISQt'()|. 


Kaxawakk.  p.  Q.,  July  l.*{,  190.-). 
Mr.  Alfred  Morris, 

SErRETARV  OK  THE   Bl'UEAU  OK  THE 

Provin(  lAL  Treasurer. 

Sir:  T  rogret  very  much  not  to  be  ublo  to  jyive  you 
any  dofinite  information  in  roRanl  to  tlio  word  Missis- 
quoi.  As  yet,  I  liave  studied  only  the  Froijuois  lan- 
guage, and,  .iudging  by  tlie  spelling,  this  word  does 
not  seem  to  be  Irocjuois.     That  is  all  that  T  ran  say. 

In  clianging  the  manner  of  writing  [ndian  words  to 
their  way,  the  whites  have  caused  nnicli  difficulty.  To 
cite  only  one  example;  In  the  word  " Caughnawaga, " 
how  now  to  recognize  the  Iro(|uois  word  "Kanawake," 
which  means  "by  the  rai)ids." 

The  Parliament  at  Ottawa  have  decided  to  i)rint  on 
the  new  cards  "Kanawake"  instead  of  Caughnawaga, 
a  word  coined  by  the  Bostonians. 

Hoping  that  this  examjile  will  illustrate,  please 
accept  ray  respectful  salutations. 

Your  most  devoted  servant, 

L.  S.  Granger,  S.  J. 


Caughnawaga,  July  15,  1905. 
O.  Alfred  Morris,  Secretary. 

Dear  Sir:  I  received  your  favor  of  the  Uth  current. 
As  it  stands,  "Missisquoi"  is  not  an  Iroquoian  word, 
but  an  old  Indian,  to  whom  I  mentioned  it,  said  that 
it  is  an  Algonquin  word—'' T,sisquoi"—stoii.  When 
I  was  among  the  Crees,  I  used  to  say  often :  "Tsisquoi ! 
tsisquoi!"     "Stop!  stoi)!"  he  said. 

The  Iroquois  have  no  "m"  in  their  language,  but 
Algonquins  have  it.    So  "Missisiiuoi"  may  be  of  their 


Etvmoi.<h)y    op    Afissi^xjuor.  73 

foiiffuo.     T  (.(.nfcMH  that  I  an.  not  coinpotent  to  judRe 
""^  "^'^*-  KVHpcct fully  yours. 

Akt.  Mkl\\<;()X,  W.  J. 

Tropin^  at  last  to  K«'t  infonnation  that  would  tond 
to  hanuoni/o  t\w  i.uuiy  conflicting'  intivprctation.s  and 
explanations  ^rjv,.,,,  a,,,]  wlnCli  socmcfj  to  multiply  and 
mystify  as  my  invcsti^rations  proccodod.  I  next  ad- 
dressed the  following  letter  to  the  e.litor  of  the  Amer- 
ican A  nth  ropolofi'ist : 

Worcester,  Mass..  .luly  L'4.  1JH)5, 
Editor  American  Anthropolooist, 
Washington,  1).  ('. 
Dear  Sir:    I  am  very  desirous  to  learn  the  origin 
and  signification  of  the  Indian  place  name  now  spelled 
Alissisquoi.but  which  has  underg.me  nianv  orthograph- 
ical changes,  some  of  the  earlier  forms  being  Michis- 
com,  Missiskuoos,  Missiskoue,  Missesco,  etc.     This  is 
the  name  of  a  river  in  northern  \'ermont.  and  of  a  bav 
on  the  northern  end  of  Lake  ('ham])laiii  which  extends 
into  the  Province  of  Quebec. 

Authorities,  living  and  dead,  differ  much  as  to  its 
origin  and  signification.  I  am  verv  anxious  to  liave 
tlie  matter  authoritatively  and  definitelv  deterniined 
and  I  appeal  to  you  for  assistance,  "wiil  v.  .„.f 
kindly  remler  me  this  service  or  put  me  in  .  M/rnici- 
cation  with  some  one  who  will?  I  will  gla<(u  ii.jk< 
compensation  for  sucli  service. 

Craving  pardon  for  this  trespass  u})on  vour  v.  'ua- 
ble  time,  and  thanking  you  in  advance  for  the  court,  -y 
ot  your  consideration  and  aid,  I  am. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

(ieorge  McAleeh. 


i 


74  Etymui.<)oy   or    Mimhim^uui. 

To  wliich  I  ret'eiv«Hl  the  following  reply: 

New  Vobk.  N.  Y.,  July  2«,  VK)'). 

Dear  Sir:  Your  favor  directed  to  WnHhiuffton  and 
kindly  reniniled  to  me  by  tlie  editor  of  the  Amnrican 
Anthropoloffist,  in  just  reeeive<l.  I  have  never  taken 
any  interest  in  the  study  of  Indian  onomatology,  Hince 
it  iH  very  unsatisfactory. 

The  .Jesuit  missionaries  say  that  the  word  Missis- 
qiioi  is  a  corruption  of  Creo  Mis  iskriv  (pronounced 
Miss-is-kway-oo),  "big  woman,"  but  I  have  seen  no 
reason  given  for  its  application. 

The  spelling  Missisquoi  is  French,  and  formerly  in 
that  language  oi  was  pronouncetl  like  the  present 
French  close  r,  and  perhaps  may  be  so  still  in  Canada. 
If  the  above  exi)lanation  is  correct,  the  word  would  be 
from   Mis,   "large,"   "big,"   "great,"    and    Iskenr, 

"^"™«""  Very  truly  yours, 

W.  R.  Gerard. 
J)r.  George  McAleer. 

T  next  addressed  the  following  letter  to  the  Statisti- 
cal Department  of  the  Government  of  the  Dominion  of 
Canada : 

Worcester,  Mass.,  August  28,  190."). 
Mr.  Oeoroe  Johnson,  Statistician, 
Department  of  Agriculture, 
Ottawa,  Ont. 

Dear  Sir:  If  the  following  information  can  be  su])- 
T^lied  by  your  offices  I  shall  esteem  it  a  very  great  favor 
to  be  ])ut  in  possession  of  the  same. 

In  what  year  was  the  County  of  Missisquoi,  one  of 
the  counties  constituting  the  Eastern  Township,   so 


Etvmouxiy   of    MisHiHqi'oi.  7,-, 

callwl,  in  tlip  I'rovince  of  Quebtv,  suivcyed  umi  ostah- 
HsIhhI  as  n  ((uuityf 

Whiii  event  or  oventH  led  up  to  its  survev  and  estah 
lisliment?  i.  e.,  was  it  Hurveyed  an<l  established  by  tin- 
government  with  a  view  to  its  disposal  as  farnis  to 
colonists  and  settlers,  as  a  whole  to  an  assoeiation  or 
corporation  of  land  speculators,  or  as  a  benefaction  or 
b«'nefactions  f(»r  military  service?  Who  bestowed  the 
name  Missis(|uoi  thereon?  Wli>  was  this  mane  se- 
lected f  Who  or  what  luxly  of  men  officiallv  sanciione<l 
its  use? 

Craving  your  indulgence  for  this  trespass  upon  your 
valuable  time,  and  thanking  you  in  advance  for  the 
courtesy  of  your  c<»nsi(h'ration  and  aid,  I  am, 

Yours  mt)st  respectfully, 

(Ieorc;e  Mc.Ar.KKR. 

To  which  I  received  tlie  following  reply: 


Dominion  of  Canada. 
Statistical  Bkan(  h, 

DePAUTMKNT  ok  AoKK-ULTlIti;. 

Ottawa,  aoth  August,  1{K)5. 
GEoRciK  AfrALEER,  Esq.,  M.D., 
Worcester,  Mass. 

Dear  Sir:  In  answer  to  yours  oi  the  L'sth  inst.,  \  have 
to  say:  Lst.  The  County  of  Missis(iuoi  appears  first 
in  the  censu.s  of  1827.  It  (hies  not  ajipcar  in  that  of 
182.').  In  this  last  mentioned  census  (182."))  Bedford 
is  given  with  a  |)oi)ulation  of  29.7.*?.').  In  the  census  of 
1827,  Bedford  disapj)ears  and  Missisipioi  appears 
with  a  pojmlation  of  7,7()r». 

There  was  evidently  a  redistribution  of  that  part  of 


mmm. 


MICROCOPY    RESOLUTION   TEST  CHART 

(ANSI  and  ISO  TEST  CHART  No.  2) 


12.8 


^    li£ 


2.5 


^!S  IS 


2.0 


1.8 


A  /APPLIED  IIVMGE     I 

S^  '653   East   Main   SIresI 

g^S  Rochester,    New    York  14609        USA 

'■^  (?1  6)   482  -  0300  -  Phone 

^=  (716)   288-  5989  -  Fa« 


76 


Etymology   op    ^^Is.sISQuoI. 


the  Eastern  Townsliips    about    1826,  for  census  and 
other  purposes. 

By  Chap.  73.  9  George  IV  (1828- '29),  the  boundaries 
ot  electoral  divisions  were  set  forth  and  Afissisquoi 
(spelled  Missiskoui),  it  was  then  decreed,  "should  con- 
sist of  the  township  of  Sutton,  the  Seigniory  of  St. 
Arniand,  and  the  townships  of  Dunham  and  Stan- 
bridge." 

2d.  I  have  the  following  note  on  the  second  point 
mentioned  in  your  letter.  At  the  ei>ocli  of  the  cession 
of  Canada  to  the  English  Sovereign,  the  greater  part 
of  the  region  now  called  the  "Eastern  Townships" 
was  the  property  of  the  Crown,  the  grants  made  by 
the  French  King,  having  been  limited,  for  the  most 
part  to  the  seigniories  along  the  river  St.  Lawrence 
and  the  principal  tributaries. 

The  British  administration  undertook,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  its  regime,  the  colonization  of  the  wild  lands. 
Its  attention  was  early  directed  to  the  solitudes,  which, 
cleared  and  settled,  now  form  the  Province  of  Ontario, 
where  the  virgin  forests  were  surveyed  and  divided 
into  regular  portions  under  the  name  of  townships 
after  the  mode  adopted  in  the  neighboring  states. 

Later  on,  the  same  surveyors  were  directed  to  the 
"Bois  Franc"  country,  and  by  1792  the  first  official 
surveys  were  completed  in  the  wilds  situated  between 
the  seigniories  on  the  river  bank  and  the  boundary 
line,  and  called  "townships  in  the  east,"  as  the  first 
were  "to^-nships  in  ihe  west."  The  first  grant  was 
made  by  Lord  Dorchester  in  1796,  that  of  40,895  acres 
m  Dunham  township,  to  Thomas  Dunn. 

Thomas  Dunn  was  a  speculator  and  he  and  others 
secured  large  areas  which,  later  on,  led  to  much  dis- 
pute, the  causes  of  which  you  will  find  set  forth  in 


Etymology    of    ]Miy>si.syuoi.  77 

api-ondix  Xo.  2,  W.  to  K.  K.,  Journals  of  Canada,  \'ol 
X,  18;)]. 

3d.     WIio    »)estowed    the    nanio    Missis(|uoi.    or    as 
si)elied  m  tlie  Statute  of  JX.  (Jeorge  I\',  Missiskoui.' 

Tliere  has  been  c'()nsidoral)le  contn.versv  o\fM-  this 
I  am  assured  by  competent  authorities  that"it  is  neither 
an  Algon.iuin,  a  JIuron  nor  an  Inxiuois  word. 

If  that  is  so,  then  it  nuist  he  an  Al)enal<is  word,  like 
Megantic,  :Memi)hremasos  and  one  or  two  otliers  !f 
Abenakis,  it  must  have  been  given  bv  one  of  tlie 
Abenakis  tribe  of  savages  pushed  l)aek  "from  tlie  At- 
lantic sliore  by  the  English  settlements  of  Massaehu- 
etts,  etc.,  and  forced  by  the  policy  of  the  Xew  England 
ers  to  lorm  alliance  with  the  French. 

Au  xVbenakis  word,  comi)ounded,  would,  like  the 
other  Indian  tribal  place-names,  have  .l//.s>/,  to  mean 
"big,"  "large,"  but  big  what .'  In  the  case  of  Alissis- 
quoi,  my  friend.  Rev.  E.  Taylor  of  Ivnowlton,  writing 
to  me  only  a  week  or  ten  days  ago,  thinks  q,wi  comes 
trom  qacqutcum,  wliich  means  duck,  so  Missiscmoi 
would  mean  "much  duck." 

Others  think  they  see  in  quoi,  or  rather  sqiwi,  a  re- 
semblance to  the  Indian  word  from  which  we  take  the 
word  squaw.  Hence  that  Missis(iuoi  means  "bi'ir 
woman. ' ' 

My  own  view  is  that  the  Abenakis  first  found  lodg- 
ment along  the  banks  of  the  river,  which  being  full  of 
large  rocks  or  boulders,  they  called  Missisquoi  because 
ot  the  number  and  size  of  the  rocks  in  the  river  bed 
The  name  was  later  on  transferred  to  the  bay    and 
thence  naturally  to  the  county  when  it  was  created. 
Trusting  that  the  above  will  be  of  service,  I  am, 
Yours  very  truly, 

George  Johnsox, 

Statistician. 


78 


Etymology    op    Missisquof. 


Judge  Girouard's  article  was  next  received  and  is 
herewitli  rei)r()dnced: 

The  Etymologv  of  the  Word  Missisquoi. 

(Translated  from  "Le  Bulletin  .les  Recherches  Historiques. ") 

When  in  1903  I  announced   in   the   preface  of  mv 
;' Supplement  to  Lake  St.  Louis"  that  I  was  withdraw- 
ing from  the  field  of  historical  research— and  I  may 
explam  here  that  it  was  in  order  to  devote  myself  ex- 
clusively to  the  preparation    of   my   ever-increasing 
judicial  work— I  was  far  from  foreseeing  that  I  would 
so  soon  return  to  it,  in  an  attempt  to  discover  the 
origm  of  an  Indian  name,  practically  insignificant,  but 
which  seems,  however,  to  have  excited  the  interest  of 
the  antiquaries  on  the  other  side  of  the  frontier  for 
many  months.     I  could  not  resist  the  pleasure  of  ren- 
dering a  service  to  an  enquirer  of  Worcester,  Mass 
who  asked  me  the  etymology  of  the  word  ^lissisquoi, 
a  name  given  to  a  little  river  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  State  of  Vermont,  to  a  bay  of  Lake  Champlain, 
and  to  a  county  in  the  Province  of  Quebec.    Everyone 
knows  that  it  is  Indian,  like  the  origin  of  the  names, 
which  have  been  preserved,  of  many  rivers,  lakes  and 
localities,  for  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  indigenous 
races  had    a    geography  of  their  own,  in  fact,  it  is 
probable  that  each  nation  had  its  own,  going  back  to 
an  antiquity  more  or  less  remote.    Now  that  the  lan- 
guages of  the  Indian  tribes  are  dying  out,  slowly,  it  is 
true,    but    nevertheless    surelv— the    Hurons  being  a 
striking  example,  as  we  shall  soon  see— the  unpub- 
lished dictionaries  (French-Indian  and  vice- versa)  of 
the  old  missionaries,  among  others    that    of   Father 
Auberi,  S.  J.,  missionary  of  the  Abenaquis  of  Saint 


n 


T 

FRENCH           ! 

GRANTS  OF 

LAND 

O.V 

LAKE 

CHAMPLAIN 

A     Contrecour 

B     (le  la  Periere 

C     de  Beauvoia 

D    Lueignan 

E    Daine 

F    Blfury 

6    .Sabervois 

H    de  Noyan 

/      Focault                           ' 

A'    Lafi)ntainH                   j 

L     Contrecour 

M    S*    Vincent 

iV     I     iauchetiere 

0     P'     I 

P     Beaujeu 

Q    La  Ronde                      ! 

R    de  Lery                        1 

S    Longut'il 

T    Mrs.  Hertelle               i 

U    Robert 

X    Fort  St.  .T(  an 

Y    Fort  St.  TWrfese 

RIVERS                   1 

4    Aux  Loutres 

S    Boquette 

6    Oainousqui 

7    Au  Sable                      i 

8    alaMouelle 

9    St.  Amant 

10  Chazy 

11  a  la  Cole 

y^    duSud 

13    Brochette 

14    du  Rocher 

ja    Miehiwoiiy 

16    Point  a  r  Algonquin 


Reproduced  from 

SIEUR  AUGER'S  MAP 

Made  in  17S2. 


Engraved  expressly  for 

THE  ETYMOLOGY  OF  MISSISQUOI 

By  (TRORnic  McAleer.  M.D. 


Etymo[,ogv    of    :\ris.sisQi:or.  79 

FraiiQois  du  Lac  from  1708  to  1755,  and  othor  similar 
ones  of  the  missionaries  of  difforont  tribes,  an.  of  LM-eat 

f1?irw  mT  ^"  'r'*"''^'"'  '•"'"*  "*■  ^'^^^^  '-^"'J  before  lon^^ 
they  will  be  indispensable.    The  Canadian  publie  has 

nilnMl  ^'^^"'^^''^''«"t  ^vith  regard  to  the  abori,.i- 

ofS.n"rT  '■•''''"*  ^''"'^'"''  ^^••'*^'"'  the  mission^u- 
ot  «a"It  Saint  Lo„,s,  an  expert  in  Indian  languages 
could  not  find  a  printer  for  his  historv  of  the  Tndim.s' 
of  his  mission-a  mission  so  closely  connected  with 
that  of  Afontreal;  he  has  told  me  of  this  himself.  The 
Department  ot  Archives  really  should  buv  the.se  pre- 
cious manuscripts.  '  ' 

From  what  nation  does  the  name  Missis^uoi  come? 
lo  what  dialect  does  it  belong? 

In  order  to  facilitate  the  solution  of  the  problem,  I 

first  searched  for  the  diflferent  authentic  spellings  of 

he  name.     The  archives  and  the  old  maps    eprodiLd 

noo"  n"  V^T  '''"^^,!:-"r---"->^  others  a  map  of 
]W>0  (3  Faillon,  124)  which  shows  plainlv  Lake 
Champlain  and  its  actual  name,-make  no  menticmof 
Missisquoi  Bay,  although  it  is  clearly  traced  the  eon 
The  oldest  document  that  sj.eaks  of  it  is  the  concession 
made  on  the  0th  of  April,  1733,  to  the  8101^1 1  i," 
sTskouv^  «7^."-'T  «t  -Missiskouy  Bay  (la  Baie  de  Mil 
siskou>),  (Titres  Seigneuriaux,  t.  ler,  p.  164)  The 
name  however,  must  have  been  known  by  the  French 

Jol  I  P   #  t"^"^'''  reproduced  verbatim  bv  Mr. 

John  P.  Noyes,  K.  -.,  president  of  the  Historical  So- 
ciety of  the  County  of  Missisquoi,  in  his  intere  thig 
study  on  the  ''Early  Settlers  in  the  District  of  Bed 
ford,  pages  lo  and  l(i,  mentions  Missis<,uie  Bav.  In 
I8I0,  Bouchette,  m  the  "Topographical  Description 
of  Lower  Canada,"  pages  185  to  190,  spells  it  Missis- 


80 


Ktymolooy    op    Mifwisguui. 


qui  Bay.    This  was  the  Kn^lisli  pronuneiatioii  of  the 
old  name  Missiskouy.    Furthermore,  in  the  ohl  Revised 
Statutes  of  r.ower  Caiuuhi,  of  184.-),  there  mav  be  found 
a  law  fixing  the  limits    of   the   cleetoral  divisions  of 
Lower  Canada,  i)a^sed  in  1828  ([)  Geo.  IV,  c.  I'A),  where 
the  County  of  Missiskoui  is  deserihed.       Finally,  in 
lH'y3,  at  the  time  of  the  division  of  J.ower  Cana(hi"  into 
districts,  it  may  he  observed  that  the  orthographv  was 
changed,  and  the  Legislature,  for  the  first  time,  T  think 
adopted  the  spelling  which  has  been  invariablv  used 
since,  namely.  Missiscjuoi.     This  is  sanctioned  "bv  the 
Consolidated  Statutes  of  Lower  Cauada  of  18(;()   the 
British  North  America  Act,  18(57,  and  all  tlie  diction- 
aries, maj-s  and  books    of  modern   geography,     P]vi- 
dently  they  ado])ted  a  French  S{)elling,  whicli  agrees 
perhaps  l)etter  with  the  euphony  of  the  woj-d. 

But  what  is  the  meaning  of  tlie  name?  Being  a 
stranger  to  Indian  diak.'ts,!  made  iiujuiries  of  the  mis- 
sionaries of  the  different  tribes  of  the  Province,  and  of 
the  anti(iuaries  of  the  district,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  it 
was  not  an  easy  task  to  reach  a  satisfactorv  solution. 
I  asked  of  tliem  all  the  origin  of  the  name  Missisquoi 
or  Missiskouy.  My  first  re])ly  was  from  Mr.  John  P 
Noyes  of  C'owansville.  It  is  dated  the  23d  of  May, 
1905.    I  will  quote  it  word  for  word: 

"I  am  unable  to  give  an  absolutely  definite  answer 
to  your  query  as  to  the  t.rigin  and  meaning  of  'Mis- 
sisquoi.' I  have  been  trying  for  some  time  to  run  it 
to  earth,  and  have  pretty  well  satisfied  myself,  but  in 
such  matters  one  must  have  an  open  mind.  AVhen  one 
has  to  rely  largely  on  tradition,  there  is  always  an 
element  of  doubt,  even  in  the  best  considored  theory. 

"The  definitions  given  allege  Indian  origin,  but 
Indian  is  an  indefinite  term.    One  wants  to  know  the 


I 
I 


Etymologv    of    ^rissisyuoi.  y, 

imrtieulnr  dialect  and  tribal  pecullarlth-s     Th.  I       i 
ity  of  Misslsimoi  Bay  from  J.i  .».  1  .    ■       ''"'"'■ 

posslblv  l,v  the  Huro^^  n  .?     Algon.iumH,  and 

•old  squaw.'    I ',  Zt  ,.   -  fl,tf  ?"*?  "'"'"'  ■"™"i"g 

-'^^«.r  £Si9-  ---'Kit- 

water-fowl."    Tlmswe  tvi  ,™r,"  ™'"''"8  '■»""'' 
and  Indian  trails  ta  ZoT  '™'""'"'  '-— P'-ns 


8-  Ktvm<)I,(J(jy    oi-'    MissiH(ji'(>i. 

"To  the  (lofiiiitiori  'old  H(|uaw.'  I  attncli  no  impor- 
taiici!.  T  can  find  neither  tradition  nor  cireunistaneo 
for  its  support.  It  may  liave  been  inferred  from  a 
broad  proninifiation,  .Mi.s.ses-S.|na\\  niissj-s  bein^'  the 
ordinary  eon  ry  name  for  mistress  or  madam,  and 
theroforo  presumedly  old.  It  could  just  as  well  mean 
miss  or  younj,'  s<|na\v.  But  the  spelling?  of  to-dav  is 
not  that  of  the  old  time.  Tliree-(|iiarters  of  a  century 
a.ifo,  an<J  before,  and  even  for  some  tin>e  after,  it  was 
spelled  'Missiskoui.'  Paj)ers  in  the  Dominion  archives 
show  that  in  17H.")  it  was  spelled  '.Missiscpiie.'  It  is 
only  about  half  a  century  since  th<'  i)resent  name 
received  a  statutory  endorsement.  1  have  no  access 
to  the  archives,  nor  anything'  else,  to  show  what  Mi- 
sis(|uoi  Hay  was  called  during  the  French  regime. 
Being  on  the  war  route  between  the  St.  L.iwrence  and 
the  New  England  settlements,  it  must  have  had  a  dis- 
tinctive name. 

"I  have  hoi)ed  many  times  that  a  querv  like  vours 
would  be  sent  to  that  excellent  publication,  the"'Bul- 
Jetm  d.-i  Recherches  Ilistorirpies.'  I  did  not  dare  to 
put  my  feeble  French  on  record  in  a  periodical  sub- 
mitted to  so  many  scliolarly  eyes." 

And    recently,    in    the    Ncirs,    imblished     in     St 
John,  P.  Q.,  of  the  2:M  of  .lune,  1905,  Mr.  Noves,  under 
the  j)en  name  of  "Wayside  Warbler,'    adds': 

"Tliere  is  an  old  text-book  recentiv  placed  in  my 
hands  which  tells  a  story  of  it  •  own.  "  It  was  printed 
in  tlie  Eastern  Townships,  in  its  youthful  davs,  as  a 
text-book  for  the  Englisli  schools  ot  the  Province  and 
its  cover  bears  the  title,  'Geograr-hv  and  Historv  of 
Lower  Canada,  Designed  for  the  I^se  of  Schools,  by 
Zadok  Thompson,  A.M.,  late  Preceptor  of  Oharlestou 


ETVM()r,.HiY     „K     Ml^siHiU'ui. 

!;&';;;^^r'^:;:;,;:;::^i;; ,.-,?"'''- 

f""i"-  ""■'  "-t lornl . ,  ■  .  :;■;;:;;''■;•'• " 

lins  hoon  said  flio  n.i,„  ;  i  •  ..  ""Kuial,  il,  as 
words.  Mi  '  :  "  "  '  *''iy-'\'  ^'•"'"  t'"'  ^^"  Indian 
name  Ali^^i:;,^  "';.,•;"      '>'«'<", -"t..-fou|.    The 

daneeor.^;;;.!^:j'';|/;::;;---;;;-t^^^ 

kisko  was  at  l.n^tl.  shortorn-d  to  Mis^  ^;  '.'r 

wards  hooan.e  the  nanu>  of  a  ('ountv  '    Tl'.  '' 

of  the  name,  ad<: ,  Mr    Vovp^  ?     *    •  '»^«n'ng 

bon.eoutb,t..et.ad!;i;.^r^.^-Zd-L:is"'^^^^^ 
Next,    Mr.    Ernest    Haoieot    K"    C     nf  «^    4.  i 

ami  duohs-wl,ile  „,igrati„s  tVom  »,mf      ,  "    rth  t 
S  eaier  nunibeis.    T  have  reason  to  believe  tht^c    mis' 


H4 


Ktymoi,oov    or    Mi>wwyijor. 


or  'miHHis'  moans  'water,'  uh  in  MiHHisHippi  and  Mis- 
Houri.  Tim  syllablo  '<|uoi'  (which  has  boon  written  in 
many  ways,  as  'koi,'  'kow,'  Siuoi,'  etc-)  resembles 
*Mmti'  of  the  name  Irofiiiois.  All  this  is  Indian.  It  is 
probable  that  l)el'ore  the  arrival  of  the  l''retu'h  at  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  all  tlio  lake  (now 
Chaniplain),  south  of  the  bay,  must  have  had  an  Indian 
name,  probably  Missistiuoi,  or  s«»me  name  like  it.  The 
name  of  this  country  nmst  come  from  the  old  name  of 
the  bay." 

On  the  other  hand,  an  old  missionary  of  Sault  Saint 
Louis,  wlio  is  familiar  with  the  Iro<iuois  tongue,  has 
written  me  that  the  name  is  not  of  Iroquois  origin, 
and  that  he  believes  it  to  be  Algonfjuin. 

Another  missionary  who  iuis  been  with  the  Algonc/alns 
of  Oka  for  a  great  number  of  years,  replied  to  me  that 
Alissistpioi  ('read  it,'  he  remarked,  'Missiskaw,'  by 
reason  of  its  etymology')  is  not  Algonquin. 

"In  Algonquin,"  he  said,  "the  root  word  'Mis' 
nieans  big,  great,  enormous.  Mis-abe,  a  big  man,  a 
giant;  Mis-abos,  a  big  hare,  an  ass,  because  of  its  ears; 
Misisipi,  big  river,  Mississippi  (Chateaubriand  wntes 
it  'Meschacebe'  and  translates  'Father  of  the  Waters,' 
wherein  he  is  mistaken).  The  Indians  inhabiting  the 
banks  of  the  Ottawa  used  to  call  it  'Kissisipi,'  the 
Grand  Klver,  one  which  receives  many  tributaries. 
Not  far  from  Ottawa  we  find  the  little  '.Nlissisipins,'  as 
we  find  *La  Belle  Riviere,'  Ohio,  in  Iroquois. 

"What  does  the  second  syllable  of  Missi-skaw  mean! 
Should  one  see  the  word  squaw,  woman,  preserved 
there  in  English,  anii  draw  conclusions  that  there  was 
at  some  time  some  extraordinary  woman  at  Missis- 
quoi?  Who  will  tell  us?  I  dare  not  pause  at  this 
hypothesis." 


-  0 


Ktvmouvjv    ov    MiMsisyi;,)/. 


T  then  tuni.Ml  to  tlu-  ,uissi.,„ar     n{  tl...  Hunms  of 

»"<'  ""V  spoke  Fn.n<.|..  I.ut  I,.  ...iVrml  n    '  o  „  p  ■  ? 
«tter  „„su...n..I  tlu.t  li...  wonl  was  „ot  Finn.,,.    Wit  . 

Zu::7cT"'''  ^  '^''''  ""'^'''^  info.  ...tioM  ,•.     . 
i'  itl.or  .1,  (.o„y.„KU(..  i,.issio,„nv  .,f  tl,.-  Al«.imkis  »»  S 

fn.m  the  hay  ir.  ....ostion.     H... .  is  ,,',.„t  i.';.  J,;,,*;;?^  '"' 
a  word  thnt  nutans  a  place  wh.-ro  thcTo  an-  hoaUor. 

"Wo  have  on.,,  -.-e.!  anmn^  .,ur  ol.i  Ahenakis  nn.l 
tl.ey  all  a^roo  up.,n  this  interp,vtati..n  as  Ihh^ 
known  among  thorn  for  a  long  time."  ^ 

Mr.  Noyes,  to  wh.)m  I  .•...nnmnieate.l  this  int.Tpro 
tation,  Ks  not  at  all  eonvnu-ed  that  it  is  eorre..      n.     e 

fow '"  st-M  """"'\'^  '"^  adopt..d-'.,„,.;,; ;"  j  ^ 

HdH^i  ,:?'"'  ^''">«^^^' "I  J^avo  an  open  mind."  He 
adds  that  there  are  no  boulders  about  the  l,av  but  tint 
quarnos,  whieh  were  worked    for    eonstriet'i,  n  n  r 

edT   Fina,r'T''  ^'^^  *?  ''  ^''""'^  -p'toThe' wat^    '. 
euge.    hinally,  however,  he  a.hnifo  fl.nf  fi.^  at-     • 
River  ;«  f.,11  \.fu     II  "  ""'IS  t"at  tlie  Missisquoi 

Kuer  IS  tull  of  boulders,  rapids  and  falls. 

This  fact  seems  to  me  to  settle  the  question.  It  is 
the  river  which  has  given  its  name  to  he  bav  and  tc! 
the  coun  y.    So  one  more  tradition  is  explo.S  Mke  so 

L^^^fr^u^'.'  '"«^^P'«'  *^«  ^^'  that  stat'e     that 
La  Salle  had  built  a  stone  fort  at  Lachine,  whose  ruLns 
could  yet  be  seen.     Moreover,  the  tradition  of  seventy 
five  years,  maintained  by  Mr.  Xoyes,  is  far  from  be  Jg 


86 


an 


Etymology   op   Missisquoi. 


ancient  one,  and,  therefore,  quite  insufficient  to 
explain  a  name  that  goes  back  nearly  two  centuries. 
Finally  it  is  disposed  of  by  reason  of  what  we  know 
of  the  Indian  languages.  ,^    ^ 

I).    GiBOUABD. 


Etymology  of  the  Name  Missisquol 
{Second  Article.) 

(Translated  from  "Le  Bulletin  des  Reeherohes  Historiques.") 

Since  my  first  article  was  published  in  Le  Bulletin, 
I  have  received  a  long  and  interesting  letter  in  French 
from  Mr.  Joseph  Laurent,  a  former  chief  of  the  Abena- 
kis  of  St.  Francois,  near  St.  Thomas  de  PierrevilJe, 
from  which  I  take  the  following  passage,  which  I 
believe  is  sufficient  for  the  purpose: 

"I  regret  exceedingly  that  your  letter  of  June  14th 
last,  in  reference  to  the  name  '  Missisquoi, '  has  been  so 
long  unanswered,  but  it  is  due  to  my  absence  in  the 
White  Mountains,  N.  II.,  for  nearly  five  months.  But, 
as  we  generally  say,  'better  late  than  never.' 

"In  giving  you  the  meaning  asked  of  the  name  'Mis- 
sisquoi,' I  fear  you  will  not  be  more  satisfied  than  I 
am  myself  about  a  word  spelt  in  so  many  different 
ways,  'Missiquoi'  and  'Missiquoy,'  according  to  your 
letters  and  'Alessisco,'  'Messisquoi'  and  'Missis 
quoy'  and  'IMissiscoug'  according  to  Dr.  George  Mc- 
Aleer's=  letter  from  Worcester,  dated  25th  Septem- 
ber last. 

"In  fact,  this  makes  six  different  ways  of  spelling, 
adding  my  own  way,  'Messii)skoik'— as  that  name  was 

'  My  letter  said  k  and  not  q,  in  the  last  word. 

'  The  American  enquirer  referred  to  in  my  first  prticle. 


Etymology   op    Missisquoi.  gy 

used  over  sixty  years  ago,  and  whose  syllables  were 

Mes-s„)8  ko-,k'-aII  distinctly  pronounml,  the  first  v 

mMes  hke  all  the  others,  for  in  our  language  alt.; 

let^ters  are  sounded,  that  is,  none  are  used  without  a 

we^c^JriS'^/"  the  modern  language  of  the  Abenakis, 
we  call  that  place  Mas-sips-ko-ik,  Massipskoik,  which 
we  pronounce  Mas-seps-ko-wik,  meaning  \rhrrr  fli.t  is 
to  he  found  (Mr.  Laurent  using  the  English  language). 

alwavrf?>"'r'  'r^  ^I'"""'  ^"'  ^  '-^"^  t'.ld  that  flint  is 
always  to  be  found  at  the  said  place."' 

On  the  14th  December,  instant.  Chief  Laurent  writes 

I'llZVl'^'l^'^  '"•'  ^"'  ^"^*  ^^^•^-  He  points  out 
what  he  stated  m  his  previous  letter,  that  the  Abenakis 
anguage  has  undergone  so  many  modifications  within 
le  last  century  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  give 
the  meaning  of  names  now  known  to  be  of  Abenakis 
origm.     He  concludes  by  stating  that  the  word  "Mas- 

.nTi  n  '...r^*"'"^  "^^'^''^  ^'"*  '■«  to  be  found,  is  very 
much  hke  '  Massapskouik."  "Massapskouikak,"  r.ean- 
ing  where  boulders  or  big  stones,  ./'  ,r<nule:  pi^Z 
exist,  thus  leaving  the  origin  and  meaning  in  doubt  ' 
Finally,  on  the  19th  December,  I  received  from  .Afr 
Laurent  a  little  vocabulary  comj.osed  and  ..ulilished 
by  him  m    884  printed  by  Broussean  of  Quebec)     he 

logues.  ^o  special  reference  or  mark  is  made  but 
on  perusing  it,  I  IVmnd  at  page  21(;,  under  the  heading 
of  Etymology  of  Indiai:  Xames  by  which  are  desig 
nated  certain  tribes,  towns,  rivers,  lakes,"  aU-.,  the  fol- 
lowing illustration :  -Missisquoi  comes  from  Masips- 
lioik  (Abenakis),  where  there  is  flint." 

•I  am  informed  by  Dr.  McAloor  that  no  flint  exists  at  tl.at  place. 


88 


Etymology   of    Missisquoi. 


Chief  Laurent  agreos  with  Father  de  Gonzague  that 
the  etymology  of  the  word  "Missisquoi"  is  Abenakis. 
This  result  is  not  surprising  when  it  is  remembered 
that  all  the  Indians  of  the  Xew  England  provinces*, 
now  nearly  extinct,  spoke  the  Abenakis  idiom,  which 
was  common  to  all,  except  the  IMicmacs^  The  Indi- 
ans gave  names  to  a  large  number  of  localities,  rivers, 
lakes,  mountains,  villages,  lands,  settlements  and  coim- 
tries,  which  are  indicated  ])artly  by  him  and  have  been 
preserved  to  the  i)resent  day,  although  in  most  in- 
stances more  or  less  disfigured.  The  word  ^Missisquoi 
is  one  of  them,  although,  according  to  Chief  Laurent 
in  his  first  letter,  it  means  nothing  in  Abenakis,  i)rob- 
ably  for  the  reason  that  it  is  Frenchified  and  that  the 
"q"  is  unknown  in  that  idiom  and  is  always  replaced 
by  "k,"  says  Abbe  Maurault,  page  11.  In  the  grant 
made  to  Mr.  de  Lusignan  in  1733,  ]\fissisquoi  is  spelled 
with  a  "k"  and  not  a  "q."  In  the  ratification  of  the 
same  by  the  King  in  1735,  it  is  likewise  spelled  (Can. 
Ar.,  1904,  p.  218).  We  are  told  by  both  Mr.  de  Gonza- 
gue and  Mr.  Laurent  that  the  bay  in  question  is  now 
known  to  the  Abenakis  Indians  by  the  name  of  "Mas- 
sipskoik,"  and  some  sixty  years  ago  by  that  of  "Mes- 
sipskoik,"  which  means  "where  flint  {pier re  a  fusil) 
is  to  be  foimd,"  and  possibly  at  one  t'lme  "Massaps- 
kouik"  or  "  Massapskuikak, "  where  boulders  or  large 
stones  exist.  The  meaning  of  the  word  sixty  years 
ago  varies  a  little  from  that  of  Father  de  Gonzague; 


'An  old  map  of  Canada,  published  by  P.  de  Rochemonteix,  S.  J., 
in  Vol.  I  of  Les  Jesuites  en  la  Nouvelle  France,  shows  a  vast  country, 
situated  to  the  southeast  of  Lake  Chaniplain,  as  being  that  of  the 
Abenakis. 

'nist.  des  Abenakis,  1866,  by  Abb6  Maurault,  one  of  their  mis- 
sionaries for  over  thirty  years,  at  pages  6,  9,  10. 


Etymology    op    ^rissisQuor.  gg 

but  it  is  admitted  by  botli  tliat  it  rol'ers  to  somo  kind 
of  stone  and  not  to  "water-fowl,"  and  that  possiblv 
it  meant  boulders  or  large  stones.     .Mr.  de  Gonzague, 
in  reply  to  a  query  from  me,  has  just  answered  thai  in 
his  former  letter  published,  he  merely  expresse<l  the 
opinion  of  the  most  competent  Indians  then   in  the 
village.  Mr.  de  Gonzague  admits  that  he  does  not  con- 
sider himself  as  being  acquainted  with  their  language, 
although  it  is  known  that  he  has  been  their  missionary 
for  many  years  and  is  Al)enakis  bv  birth.    At  the  time 
of  Afr.  Maurault,  1840-1871,  the  religious  service  and 
instruction  were  conducted  in  the  Indian  tongue.     For 
that  reason  many  old  Indians    are    living  who  well 
understand  the  dialect.    .Mr.  Laurent  remarks  in  his 
last  letter  that  the  Indian  tongue  is  yet  the  prevailing 
language  of  the  tribe,  although  familiar  with  both 
French  and  English.    Mr.  de  Gonzague  adds  that  he 
has  no  doubt  that  the  spelling  and  interi)retation  given 
by  Mr.   Laurent  are  correct.      He   looks  upon  him 
as   a  reliable   authority,   familiar  with    the    dialect 
and  its  history,  and  judging  from  his  letters  aud  book 
he  knows  what  he  is  talking  about.    It  is  evident, 
however,  that  he  has  a  predilection  for  the  definition 
in  his  book.    Taking  the  conclusion  arrived  at  by  the 
old  chief,  the  French,  naturally  struck  bv  the  sound  of 
the  word  "Messipskoik"    or    "Massapskouik,"  soon 
made  ''Missiskouy,"  "Missiskoui"  and  finally  "Mis- 
sisquoi,"  probably  not  troubling  themselves  about  its 
meaning*.    It  was  natural  that  they  should  take  the 
name  from  these  Indians  who,  under  various  names. 


I 


•As  early  aa  in  1739,  the  President  of  the  French  Navy  Board 
writes  "Missisquoi"  River,  where  the  Abenakis  were  then  thinking  of 
moving  to.— Can.  Ar.,  1904,  p.  260. 


90 


Etymology   op   Missisquoi. 


were  to  be  found  dispersed  here  and  thero  tliroughout 
the  New  England  colonies  as  early  as  the  beginning  of 
the  seventeenth  centi  ry,  and  after  long  years  of  wars 
with  the  English,  and  being  very  much  reduced  in 
numbers,  ultimately  took  refuge  in  Canada,  first  at 
Sillery  and  St.  Francois  de  la  Kiviere  Chaudiere  near 
Quebec,  and  finally,  about  1680,  at  Becancourt  and  St. 
Francois  near  Lake  St.  Peter  and  Pierreville  of  to- 
day. Les  Jisititcs  en  la  Nouvcllr  France,  Vol.  Ill,  p. 
377,  and  following  by  Rochemonteix :  Relation  par 
lettres,  id.  p.  211 ;  Maiirault,  p.  287*. 

It  may  not  be  without  interest  to  note  that  the 
learned  Abbe  Maurault  asserts  that  Coaticook,  Mem- 
phremagog  and  Megantic,  situated  in  close  ])roxiraity 
to  Aiissisquoi  Bay,  are  also  of  Abenakis  origin,  de- 
rived from  the  words  "Koakitek,"  river  of  the  land 
of  pines,  "Mamhrobagak,"  large  expanse  of  water, 
and  "Namesokanjik,"  where  fishes  stay.  Mr.  Lau- 
rent, in  his  letter  and  his  book,  does  not  spell  these 
Indian  names  like  Abbe  Afaurault,  but  both — and  Mr. 
de  Gonzague  agrees  with  them — tell  us  that  the  Abena- 
kis spoken  at  the  time  of  Father  Aubery,  S.  J.,  1712, 
had  undergone  numerous  alterations  and  modifica- 
tions borrowed  from  the  English  and  French  lan- 
guages and  other  sources.  Abbe  ]Maurault  adds  that 
he  finds  only  the  three  above  names  on  the  maj)  of 
Canada  as  being  of  Abenakis  etymology.  Mr.  Lau- 
rent in  his  book,  quotes  six  or  seven  others.  It  seems 
to  me  clear  that  our  ancestors,  both  French  and  Eng- 


'  The  Abenakis  of  St.  Francois  number  374  souls,  and  those  of 
B^cancourt  49.  Two  small  bands  of  19  and  23  souls  are  also  to  be 
found  in  the  counties  of  Quebec  and  Charlevoix. — Bulletin,  Vll,  pp. 
135,  136,  138.  In  1700,  B^cancourt  and  St.  Fran<,'oi8  had  a  population 
of  1500.— Roohemonteix,  Relation,  p.  211. 


Etymology    of    Missisqi-oi. 


91 


,1 


lish,  must  have  felt  little  difficulty  in  making  "Mis- 
siskouy,"  "Missisquie"  and  "Missisquoi"  out  of  the 
Abenakia  word  "Messipskoik,"  "Massapskouik"  or 
'*Ma8i])skoik." 

The  admission  of  Chief  Laurent  that  possibly  the 
Abenakis  word  meaning:  where  boulders,  or  de  grandes 
pierres,  are  to  be  found,  is  the  true  origin  of  the  name 
Missisquoi,  and  the  fact  tliat  there  is  no  flint,  but  a 
large  (piantity  of  boulders  and  stone  (piarries  in  the 
locality,  seems  to  me  to  be  conclusive  that  that  word 
and  that  meaning  is  the  true  one,  as  contended  in  my 
first  article.  .^    ,^ 

L).    GiROUARD. 

Ottawa,  30th  December,  1905. 

Hoping  to  get  further  information  on  new  matter 
which  I  discovered  in  my  investigations,  and  which  I 
think  has  a  bearing  upon  the  subject  under  considera- 
tion, I  sent  the  following  letter: 

Worcester,  Mass.,  December  18,  1905. 
Chief  Joseph  Laurent, 

PlERREVlLLE,   P.   Q. 

My  dear  Chief:  I  hasten  to  express  my  ap]ireciation 
and  thanks  for  your  letter  of  December  18th,  which 
came  duly  to  hand.  The  same  mail  also  brought  me 
a  letter  from  Judge  Girouard,  on  the  same  subject, 
containing  data  obtained  from  Father  Gonzague  and 
yourself. 

It  is  so  long  since  the  name  now  sj)elled  Missis(|Uoi 
was  bestowed  upon  the  river  in  Vermont  and  the  hiiy 
on  the  northern  end  of  Lake  Champlain  in  Canada, 
and  the  Abenakis  dialect  has  meanwhile  become  so 
modified  by  amalgamation  with  the  French  and  Fng- 


!! 

•IE 


92 


Etymology   of   Missisquoi. 


lish  languages,  that  at  this  distant  day  the  attempt  to 
discover  the  correct  etymology  of  the  word  may  prove 
a  fruitless  task.  Nevertheless,  the  information  con- 
tained in  >our  letter  encourages  the  belief  that  some- 
thing more  definite  and  reasonable — more  conclusive 
because  more  in  harmony  with  Indian  custom — may 
yet  be  brought  to  light  than  anything  so  far  discov- 
ered or  offered  in  exi)lanation  of  the  origin  and  mean- 
ing of  the  word. 

Pursuing  my  investigations  since  writing  to  you,  I 
have  found  in  the  Documentary  History  of  New  York, 
published  by  the  State,  Albany,  1850,  data  relating  to 
your  ancestors  and  jiossibly  to  the  subject  now  under 
consideration,  extracts  from  ^vhich  I  transcribe  and 
transmit  herewith  for  your  consideration  and  com- 
ments thereon. 

Tn  Vol.  I,  page  18,  it  is  recorded: 

"In  the  enumeration  of  the  Indian  tribes  connected 
with  the  Government  of  Canada;  the  warriors  and 
armorial  bearings  of  each  nation,  A.  D.  1736.  Paris, 
Document  VIII: 

The   Abenaquis,  one  village  called  PanaSamsket, 

toward  the  mouth  of  said  river — warriors,       200 
The  Sbenakis  at  the  head  of  said  river,  one  village 

called  NarentchSan — warriors,  150 

Becancour,  the  Abenakis,  one  vill.'  ge — warriors,       60 
The  Sbenakis  at  St.  Francis  Village— warriors,       180 

Including  those  of  Michikoui  and  those  who 

migrate. 
At  the  Lake  of  the  Two  Mountains— The  Messissin- 

gues. 

A  part  of  this  tribe  is  incorporated  with  the 

Iroquois.    The  remainder  has  its  village  at  the 

lake  of  the  same  name.    There  are  here  fiftv  men 


Etymology   of    Missihquoi. 


93 


bearing  arms.  The  armorial  bearings  of  tliis 
nation  are  the  Heron  for  the  Arhaquc,  or  Heron 
tril)e;  the  Beaver  for  tlie  Amekoves;  th«  BiMi 
for  the  Birch  tribe  (la  famillc  de  I'Ecorce); 
Blood  for  the  ^Miskouaha  or  the  bloody  people." 

N'^w,  it  is  well  known  that  in  the  bestowal  of  place 
names  the  Indians  were  a  very  matter-of-fact  people, 
the  vainglorious,  the  haphazard,  the  whimsical,  or 
the  ideal  never  being  factors,  and  you  will  notice  in 
the  above  extract  that  the  Indians  tiien  at  the  lake  of 
the  Two  ALountains  had  the  heron— A;tsco— for  their 
totem.  May  not  kesco,  combined  with  the  adjectival 
prefix  Mse,  Misi,  Mick,  or  Michi,  be  the  true  origin  of 
the  word,  as  herons— cranes  of  the  i)resent  day,  collo- 
quially— have  always  abounded  in  large  numbers  in 
the  sedge  and  marshes  at  the  mouth  of  Missisquoi 
River  and  along  the  shore?  jf  the  bay  ? 

Another  portion  of  these  people  were  designated 
the  "Miskouaha,"  or  the  "bloody  peo-  'e."  Does  this 
Miskouaha  furnish  us  with  a  key  to  the  origin  and  sig- 
nification of  the  word?  You  will  observe  that  these 
words  were  used  in  A.  D.  173G,  in  the  earliest  records 
touching  these  people,  and  long  before  the  language 
was  modified  as  it  now  is  by  contact  with  the  whites. 
May  not  these  Miskouaha— "bloody  people"— have 
been  a  body  of  warriors  specially  selected  for  their 
bravery  and  prowess  to  contend  with  their  inveterate 
enemies,  the  Maquas,  and  may  not  their  headquarters 
on  the  river  near  the  border  line  dividing  them  from 
their  foes  be  of  sufficient  reason  for  bestowing  this 
name  on  the  river  and  thus  be  (luite  in  harmony  with 
aboriginal  custom? 

I  note  what  you  say  in  reference  to  Mas-seps-ko-wik 
meaning  "where  flint  is  to  be  found,"  and  also  that 


!l 


04 


EtVMOLOOY     of     M1SSI8QUOI. 


Missisiscong  means  "big  serpent,"  "not  the  ordinary 
big  serpent,  but  the  species  imnied  *boa  serpent.'  "  It 
is  true  that  big  rocks  or  boulders  abound  in  the  terri- 
tory aboiit  the  l)ay  in  (piestion,  but  there  is  no  fiint  in 
the  vicinity  of  tlie  bay  or  river,  nor  are  there  any  hirge 
"boa"  or  otlier  venomous  serpents  thereabouts,  n<  • 
could  there  have  been  any  in  a  latitude  so  far  north. 
While  tliese  words  might  signify  flint,  and  "big," 
"large"  or  "boa"  seri)ents,  they* would  not  apply  to 
anything  true  of  the  place  upon  which  this  name  was 
bestowed,  and  they  aro,  therefore,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
inadmissible  as  explaining  the  etymology  of  the  word, 
because  they  are  not  in  harmony  with  Indian  custom. 

There  are  numerous  rapids  and  falls  in  the  Missis- 
quoi  River,  the  largest  being  near  the  village  of  Swan- 
ton,  Vermont,  which  was  formerly  the  site  of  the 
lieadciuarters  of  the  Abenakis,  and  the  noise  of  these 
falls,  I  have  been  told,  reminded  them  of  their  Sisi- 
quois  —  pronounced  8ee-se-kwah  —  their  rattles  or 
drums,  and  that  calling  it  the  big  or  great  rattle  by 
prefixing  Mh-  completes  the  word  and  furnishes  an 
explanation  of  its  meaning.  What  do  you  think  of 
this? 

Have  you  access  to  the  manuscrii)t  dictionary  com- 
piled by  Pere  Aubory,  S.  J.?  Perhaps  by  going  back 
to  the  ancient  orthography  his  work  may  throw  some 
light  upon  the  origin  and  signification  of  this  and 
other  word?  that  are  claimed  to  have  given  the  river 
its  name,  and  thus  aid  in  solving  the  perplexing  rid- 
dle and  establishing  the  etymology  of  the  word  au- 
thoritatively. 

The  earliest  form  of  spelling  that  I  have  encoun- 
tered in  my  research  is  that  on  Sieur  Auger's  map, 
made  in  1732,  where  it  is  spelled  Michiscouy,  and  the 


Etymolouy    op    MiHsisyroi.  95 

next  is  in  a  grant  of  land  to  I.ai'ontainc  in  17.{;}, 
wherein  it  is  spelled  Missiskouy,  lu.th  htjij?  practically 
the  same  in  spelling  and  .sc.nnd.  To  nie  it  seems  \v.>il 
to  keep  the  sound  -nach'  by  these  spellings  constantlv 
in  mind  and  not  he  led  astray  hy  the  manv  later  mod 
ifieations. 

Craving    your    in.hilgenee    and    again  asking  vour 
tarly  consideration,  valuable  aid  and  earlv  replv.'and 
wishmg  you  the  eompliments  ni'  the  Christmas  season 
believe  me,  y,,^,,,  ,.^.,.^,  sincerely, 

(lEOlMiK    MrAl.KER. 

Under  date  of  J^ebruary  10,  1  ()()(;,  I  received  a  >ery 
lengthy  and  interesting  letter  from  Chief  Laurent  in 
reply,  much  of  wliicli  is  of  the  same  import  as  tiiat 
supjilieJ  to  Judge  Girouard  atid  published  in  the 
''Bulletin  des  RechmJu;,  Ilistoriqiw.s,"  a  translation 
of  which  ai)i)ears  in  these  pages. 

The  Chief  says  in  addition : 

"I  have  consulted  Pere  Aubery's  Abenakis  and 
French  and  the  French  and  Englisli  ,V  'ionary,  and 
I  have  been  unable  to  find  anything  at  all  .^o  help  me 
out.  T  went  all  through  both  l)ooks,  even  to  see  if  (/ 
was  used  in  old  times  and  also  to  see  if  r  was  used 
instead  of  k,  in  some  instances  at  least,  as  we  use  it 
in  both  French  and  English  in  the  name  Canada,  and 
I  am  m  position  to  aflRrm  jiositively  that  q  was  not  in 
use  at  all  by  Indian  scholars  and  "writers,  but  that  it 
was  k  that  always  i)erformed  tlie  function  of  r  in  other 
languages.  I  also  remark  that  r  as  used  in  old  times 
IS  now,  and  has  been  for  many  years  back,  replaced 
by  /.  As  an  illustration:  my  ancestors  would  have 
said  Arnanha,  an  India",  but  now  say  Alnoba. 


96 


ExyMouoov    OF    Missisguoi. 


"You  SCO,  therefore,  by  the  change  that  the  lan- 
guage has  undergone,  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  find 
out  the  meaning  of  old  words,  esj.ecially  when  cor- 
rupted by  the  many  misspellings  of  the  whites. 

"If  Masijjskoik  or  Massapskoik,  both  '»f  which  mean 
where  there  are  many  big  rocks  or  boulders,  was  not 
the  original  meaning,  Messimskikoik,  where  there  is 
an  abundance  of  tall  grass  or  hay,  could  possibly  be 
the  ii])original  name. 

"1  wish  I  could  give  you  the  undoubted  etymology 
of  Missisquoi,  but  my  knowledge  and  all  my  searches 
in  books  do  not  lead  me  to  any  other  conclusion  but 
this  idea:  That  it  means  the  greijt  grassy  place  or 
valley,  considering  the  fact,  as  you  say,  of  abundance 
of  all  kinds  of  tall  grass  and  shrubs,  which  in  general 
we  call  Mskiko-al,  grass  or  hay — no  matter  what  kind 
it  is — what  we  call  in  French,  foin. 

"In  order  not  to  mislead  you  by  the  words  Mskiko 
and  Miskiko-al,  I  will  say  th?  t  the  fonner  is  the  yin- 
gulai  and  the  latter  the  plural  of  the  same  word.  In 
the  Abenakis  language  nil  the  vowels  must  be  dis- 
tinctly sounded,  and,  therefore,  Messepskoi  should  be 
pronounced  as  if  it  was  spelled  Messeps-ko-wi,  the 
last  syllable  as  if  it  was  spelled  we.  The  more  I  study 
and  consider  the  various  spellings  that  have  been  sub- 
mitted to  me,  the  more  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that 
Missisquoi  is  derived  from  Messepskoi,  which,  pre- 
sumably, the  whites,  omitting  the  p  and  not  being 
awaie  that  the  Abenakis  do  not  use  the  letter  g,  they 
used  that  letter  instead  of  k  and  thus  produced  the 
transformation  in  the  orthography  of  the  word." 

That  difficulties  have  always  been  encountered  by 
the  whites  in  their  attempts  to  master  the  aboriginal 


ETYMOMKiy   OF    Missisqi'or,  97 

Innininfff's  und  idinjns,  nnd  to  hritiK  linguiMtii'  order 
out  of  I'lmos,  is  ahmidnntly  proven  hy  tlio  works  of 
nmiiy  writers  on  Indian  pliiloloj^y.  Hevcrond  Jonas 
Michaelins,  from  Xew  Amsterdam  (Xew  ..,rk).  under 
date  of  August  11,  1()28,  wrote  to  Dom  Adrianus 
Smoutius  of  Amsterdam,  Holland,  on  tliis  subject,  as 
follows : 

Their  Innffnage.  wliieli  is  the  first  thing  to  he  em- 
ployed with  them,  methinks  is  entirely  peculiar.  Many 
of  our  common  pcoi)le  call  it  an  easy  language,  whicii 
is  soon  learned,  but  I  am  of  a  contrary  opinion. 

B'or  those  who  can  iMulerstand  their  words  to  some 
extent  and  rei)eat  them,  fail  greatly  in  the  pronuncia- 
tion and  speak  a  hioken  language,  like  the  language 
of  Ashdod.     For  these  i)eo)>le  have  difficult  asi»irates 
and  many  guttural  letters  which  are  formed  more  in 
the  throat  than  by  the  mouth,  teef'i  and  li])s,  which  our 
people,  not  being  accustomed  to,  guess  at  by  means  of 
their  signs,  and  then  imagine  that  they  have  accom- 
l)lished  something  wonderful.    It  is  true,  one  can  learn 
as  much  as  is  sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  trading, 
but  this  becomes  almost  as  much  by  signs  with  the 
thumb  and  fingers  as  by  speaking.     *     •     •     It  also 
seems  to  us  that  they  rather  design  to  conceal  their 
language  from  us  than  to  properly  communicate  it, 
excei)t  in  things  which  happen  in  daily  trade;  saying 
that  it  is  sufficient  for  us  to  understand  them  in  those ; 
and  then  they  speak  only  half  their  reasons,  with 
shortened  words,  and  fretjuently  call  a  dozen  things, 
and  even  more,  by  one  name;  and  all  things  which 
have  only  a  rude  resemblance  to  each  other  they  fre- 
quently call  by  the  same  name. 
7 


98 


EtTMOIXMY     op     MlHglMQlTOI. 


In  truth,  it  ih  u  made-up,  childiRh  Inngua^u;  so  that 
evon  thoHo  who  onn  best  of  alt  8i)CHk  with  the  Indiana 
and  get  along  well  in  trade,  are,  nevertheless,  wholly 
in  the  dark  and  hewildere*!  when  they  he  the  Indi- 
ans speaking  with  each  other  by  theniselvi 

From  the  dim  and  distant  past  of  nearly  three  hun- 
flred  years  ago,  an<J  passing  over  unnumbered  author- 
ities wlio  give  similar  testimony,  we  eross  the  inter- 
vening centurii  ^o  an  authority  of  our  own  day. 
Chief  Joseph  Laurent  f  Pierreville,  P.  Q.,  Canada, 
who  in  explaining  the  etymology  of  Indian  names  by 
which  are  designated  certain  tribes,  towns,  rivers, 
lakes,  etc.,  in  his  "Abenakis  and  English  Dialogues," 
says: 

it  would  i>erhap8  be  well  to  mention  that  all  these 
names,  eUher  in  Abenakis,  Cree  or  other  tribal  lan- 
guages, which  now  drsig  ate  so  many  localities,  moun- 
tains, rivers,  etc.,  have  been  so  much  disfigured  by  the 
whites,  who,  not  undt  'standing  tlie  meaning  of  these 
words,  ])ronounced  th(  m  in  the  best  way  they  could 
and  spellec'  tliem  accovilingly,  but  in  most  cases,  with 
such  incorrectness  that  they  hnve  rendered  many  of 
them  altogether  incompiehensible,  and  thereby  impos- 
sible to  discover  f'eir  true  signification. 


Briefly  summing  up  the  work  in  hand,  it  seems  fair 
to  conclude  from  the  evidence  adduced  and  that  de- 
rived from  publications  during  my  investigations: 

That  the  Indians  were  very  literal  in  the  bestowal 
of  names,  and  thai  it  is  along  the  line  of  some  striking 


Etym«)Iakiy    or    MiMHiMjuoi  §9 

peculiarity  or  physical  t-omlition  tlint  the  reason  for 
the  l>eHtowal  of  this  numu  luuHt  Im>  souKht; 

That  the  Iixliaii  place  luniif  that  iian  come  down  to 
U8  08  MiHiiiHouoi  wna  ttrst  k'wtowed  u\Hm  the  river  of 
this  name  in  northern  Vernuuit,  because  of  Honie  pecu- 
liar cojulition  existing  aionj?  its  course  or  :it  its  mouth, 
or  Btriking  characteristic  of  the  people  in  the  settle- 
ment upon  its  hanks; 

That  it  was  lonjr  years  afterwards  bel'on'  it  was 
bestowed  upon  the  bay  and  county  now  known  by  this 
name,  and  that  in  consecpunce  these  must  be  excluded 
from  consideration  when  seeking  the  reason  for  the 
bestowal  of  this  name; 

That  the  v'rees  were  remote  from  the  Abenacpiis,  and 
that  several  tribes  whose  language  was  very  diiTereut, 
lived  in  the  country  that  separated  them; 

That  there  is  no  evitlenco  whatever  to  prove  the 
adoption  of  the  words  of  one  tribe  by  another  in  prin>- 
itive  times,  and  it  is  against  probability; 

That  the  word  for  great,  big  or  many  women  in 
Abenaquis  is  entirely  unlike  the  word  of  similar  mean- 
ing in  the  Cree  language; 

That  Indian  women  wore  never  honored  in  the  way 
implied  by  "big  woman,"  "great  v^oman,"  and  the 
like; 

That  no  tlint  existed  or  was  to  be  obtained  in  the 
country  beside  or  near  the  river; 

That  while  rocks,  boulders  and  cliffs  abound  on  the 
shore  of  the  bay,  they  are  not  in  striking  evidence 
along  the  river; 

That  while  a  few  small  rattlesnakes  existed  in  early 


100 


Etymology   op   Missisquoi. 


times  in  the  territory  now  known  as  Vermont,  they 
were  neither  so  large  nor  so  abundant  as  to  justify 
the  use  of  the  adjectives  "great"  or  "many" — and 
their  habitat  was  in  the  rocky  ledges  of  the  hills  and 
mountains  and  not  in  th  lowlands,  valleys  and 
marshes ; 

That  the  Indians  had  no  word  to  signify  the  group- 
ing or  aggregation  of  different  varieties  of  the  same 
species,  as,  for  instance,  a  single  word  for  the  species 
cervida' — the  deer,  caribou,  elk  and  moose,  nor  for  the 
anatidae — the  ducks,  geese,  brant  and  swan — as  is  im- 
plied in  the  term  "water-fowl,"  nor  was  it  their  cus- 
tom so  to  do ;  and 

That  very  extensive  marshes  covered  with  a  rank 
growth  of  willows,  whortleberry  bushes  (now  called 
high-bush  blueberries),  cat-tail  flag,  bullrushes  and 
coarse  grass,  exist  at  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  and  extensive  beaver  meadows  were 
formerly  in  abundant  evidence  throughout  its  whole 
course. 

Looking  at  the  question  from  this  standpoint,  does 
not  the  evidence  submitted  warrant  the  conclusion 
that  the  word  Missisquoi  is  of  Abenakis  origin,  that 
it  was  bestowed  in  accordance  with  Indian  custom,  and 
signifies  "a  great  grassy  place,"  "a  sticky  place," — 
a  great  marshy  place? 

This  study  was  undertaken  with  a  receptive  and  an 
unbiased  mind  and  it  is  ended  without  any  predilection. 

Should  a  more  exhaustive  investigation  bring  forth 
new  facts  to  warrant  a  different  conclusion,  the  writer 
will  give  them  glad  welcome. 


I 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Bishop  Baraga's  Tlieoretieal  and  Practical  Grammar 
of  the  Otchi'pwo  language — tlic  language  spoken 
by  the  Chippewa  Indians.  Also  Dictionary  of  the 
Otehipwe  language  exi)lained  in  English.  Part  II. 
OtchipwG-English. 

Bishop  Midland's  History  of  the  Catholic  Church  in 
the  Diocese  of  Burlington;  Boston,  1900. 

Chamberlain,  Alexander  F.,  Journal  of  American 
Folk-Lore. 

Documentary  History  of  New  York;  Albany,  1850. 

Documents  relating  to  the  Colonial  History  of  New 
York;  Albany,  IS.IG — . 

Oannett's  Origin  of  Certain  Place  Xames  in  the  United 
States,  2d  Ed. ;  Government  Printing  Office,  Wash- 
ington, 1905. 

Garneau's  History  of  Canada,  Bell's  Translation; 
Montreal,  18G0. 

Hemmenway's  Vermont  Historical  Gazetteer;  Mont- 
pelier,  1882. 

Jesuit  Relations,  73  vols.;  Cleveland,  189G. 

Laurent's  Abenakis  and  English  Grammar  and  Dia- 
logues; Quebec,  1884. 

Maurault's  Ilistcire  de  Abenakis;  Sorel,  1866. 

Miles'  History  of  Canada;  Montreal,  1872. 


102 


Etymology   of   Missisquoi. 


Filling's  Bibliography  of  Iroquoian  Languages;  Gov- 
ernment Printing  Office,  Washington,  1888. 

The  Differentiation  Between  the  Penobscot  and  the 
Canadian  Abenakis  Dialects;  American  Anthro- 
pologist (N.  S.),  Vol  IV,  page  17. 

Thompson's  History  of  Vermont;  Burlington,  1842. 

Trumbull's  Natick  Dictionary;  Government  Printing 
Office,  Washington,  1903. 

Warburton's  Conquest  of  Canada;  London,  1849. 

White's  Early  History  of  New  England;  Concord, 
1841. 


LIVING  AUTHORITIES  CONSULTED 


Boyle,  Davi^^^^    .^ 69 

Doughty,  Aifa*d  iV. 56,  67 

Gerard,  W.  R 74 

Girouard,  Desin' 4:2,  7K 

Gonzague,  Joseph  de 49 

Goodrich,  J.  E. 19 

Go      .C.H 69 

Gru,.iger,  L.  S 72 

Holmes,  W.  II 44, 46,  70 

Johnson,  George 14, 75 

Jones,  William 33 

Laurent,  Joseph  95 

McCorldll,  J.  C 54,  58 

]Melan(jon,  Art.  72 

Morris,  G.  Alfred 60 

Murray,  W.  II.  II 40 

Noyes,  John  P 63 

Pardoe,  Avern  68 

Pattison,  Wm.  Mead 65 

Prince,  J.  Dynoley 35, 3S 

Racieot,  Ernest 83 

Sumner,  Samuel 39 

Tayl-r,  Ernest  M 77 

Tooker,  William  W^allace 27,  29,  31 

White,  Aubrey 69 


ETYMOLOGIES  AND  AUTHORITIES 


Mach-esk-ak,  Missi-assquo-ayeu— great  miry  place, 

Tooker, 

Mas-ik-ik-oik— place  of  great  stones,  Boulder  Point, 

Girouard, 

Messim-ski-koik— abundance  of  tall  grass,  Laurent, 
IVris-asku-og— great  grass  place,  where  great  rushes 

^0^' Tooker, 

Missi-assisku— much  mud,  much  soft  clay,  Holmes, 
Missi-assisquoi — much  mud  or  clay,  .  Hewitt, 
Missi-ikew,  or  iskwew— large  woman,  .  Hewitt, 
iMissi-ikwew— the  great  woman,  .  Pardoe, 

Misi-iskew — big  woman,  .        .         .      Baraga. 

]\Iishi-ishkew — big  woman,  .  .  Gould 

:\ris-iskew,  corruption  from    Missis-kway-oo— big 

woman  (on  authority  of  Jesuit  missionaries), 

Gerard, 

]Mishi-ishkwew— big  woman,  .        Johnson, 

]\Iissi-kisco— much  water-fowl,  Thompson, 

]\rissi-kisco— much  water-fowl,    .         .  Taylor, 

ITissi-squoi— large  rooks  or  boulders,  .  Johnson' 
Missi-squois— great    miry    place,    great     muddy 

place,  Tooker. 

^lissisquois— much  water-fowl,  .       Xoyes, 

]\Iisqui — musqua— blood  and  red,  .  Doughty, 
Missisquois,  from  Tsisquoi— stop,  .  Melanc^on, 
Msa-skog — big  snake,  .        .         .  Prince 

Msemiskeco— much  grass,  .  .  Thompson,' 
Msi-sisikwa— big  rattlesnake,       .        .  Prince, 


Page. 

28,30 

42,  85,  91 
96 

30 
70 
44 
44 
68 
11 
70 


74 
14 
15 
69 

77 

28 
63 
.58 
73 
38 
15 
36,  38 


56 


